


Frosty Winter

by Jake_Matthews



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, M/M, Out Of Character Loki, Rare Pairings, villain rehab
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2015-08-03
Packaged: 2018-04-25 08:37:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4953619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jake_Matthews/pseuds/Jake_Matthews
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki has been banished to Earth, stripped of his magic. He is adjusting well to mortal life, not attracting any unwanted attention (particularly from those pesky Avengers and SHIELD) until one day, he meets a man who turns his life upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Banishment

"Forgive me, my liege. I've returned from the Dark World with news."

"Thor?"

"There was no sign of Thor, or the weapon, but..."

"What?"

"We found a body."

"Loki..." Loki, in his disguise as a soldier, looked up at the man he had once called father and smiled darkly. He hid this expression from Odin's gaze, not wanting to give himself away just yet. Before he enacted his plan he needed to know how Odin reacted.

"He is dead, sire. He was stabbed through the chest."

"No..." Odin turned and stepped away from the soldier, shock and disbelief written on his features. "No, I do not believe it. I will not believe it! Not until I see it with my own eye." He rounded on the soldier, who stepped back slightly, taken aback by Odin's ferocity. Odin glared at the soldier, and began to notice things. Little things about the soldier, familiar things. Things that only a parent, having cared for their child all their life, would notice. Things only a parent could recognise. Small details; the way his head was angled as he stood, the way his hand gripped his spear, the faked expression of calm on his face when his eyes showed a slight fear of the man before him. Things Odin had seen in Loki a thousand times, never consciously noticing them before, but in seeing them from another's features instantly flagged that other up as being Loki in disguise. A look of recognition flashed across Odin's features before his expression turned dark, calculating. Trying to anticipate Loki's plan, to determine why he chose to fake his death. Again.

Loki saw the recognition, and realised the game was up. Honestly, he hadn't been expecting Odin to recognise him this rapidly. But all the same, he moved on to the next stage of his plan. He raised the spear and drew his sword, dropping the disguise. Odin's own spear knocked both weapons clear of his hands before he had the chance to strike. Then the spear was at Loki's throat, pushing him back until he was pinned against a pillar.

"Why, Loki? Why must you do this? Why would you lie and try to take my throne by force? Why fake your death? Why, Loki?!"

"You know why. You know wh-"

"No, Loki. No more of these poisonous lies. No more of your imagined slights. I want the truth from you, and you will not leave this room until I have it." Loki glared.

"I suppose we'll be here a while then. I have told you the truth, but you seem not to accept it." He paused, then curiosity got the better of him. "I must ask though, how did you recognise me? What gave me away?"

"I raised you Loki. From when you were a baby. Did you really think you could fool me with your disguises?"

"Thor falls for them. Every time. He has been around me for just as long as you, yet he does not know me when he sees me. He cannot tell an illusion from the real me. If I can fool him, why not you?"

"Does Thor believe you dead right now?"

"I died in his arms. He..." Loki paused, remembering the anguish in his brother's face. "He believes it, and he mourns me. When I died, it hurt him. I tried to kill him, I took control of one of his friends, I tried to conquer Midgard, I murdered a friend of his right in front of him - I have given him so many reasons to hate me. Why would he be so hurt by my death? He should be glad, I have brought him nothing but pain."

"You undervalue your worth to him, Loki. He has many fond memories of your childhood. And though I do not know the circumstances of your death, I suspect you were of a great help to him before your demise. In his eyes, you have redeemed yourself." Odin lowered his spear. Keeping his eye on Loki, he bent and picked up the weapons from the ground. Loki stepped forward cautiously, watching as Odin placed the weapons by his throne and picked something up. "Come here, Loki." He was wary, but he obeyed. When he got to Odin's side, he found himself being cuffed to the throne. It was only one wrist that was attached, and he looked at Odin in confusion.

"I told you that you are not leaving this room until you are fully honest with me. You are to stay here. You may not speak with anyone but myself. Or else. I will be watching." Then Odin turned and left. Loki just stood there, next to the throne, dumbfounded.

\- - - -

Odin was not in the throne room when Thor returned. He had been in a few times since cuffing Loki to the throne, and Loki had been kept up to date with what Thor had been doing. When it was announced that Thor would be entering, Loki panicked, and did the first thing that came to mind. He sat in the throne, and disguised himself as Odin. Thor walked in and knelt before the throne. A brief panic flashed through Loki's mind, but he calmed himself and continued down the path he had started on.

"You once said there would never be a wiser King than me. You were wrong. The alignment has brought all the realms together. Every one of them saw you offer your life to save them. What can Asgard offer its new King in return?"

"My life. Father, I cannot be King of Asgard. I will protect Asgard and all the realms with my last and every breath, but I cannot do so from that chair. Loki for all his grave imbalance understood rule as I know I never will. The brutality, the sacrifice… It changes you. I’d rather be a good man than a great King." That interested Loki greatly. He kept up his act, while internally pondering Thor's observations about himself.

"Is this my son I hear? Or the woman he loves?"

"When you speak, do I never hear Mother’s voice?" That hurt Loki, deep down, and he sighed, casting his eyes down. "This is not for Jane, Father. She does not know what I came here to say. Now forbid me to see her or say she can rule at my side, it changes nothing."

"One son who wanted the throne too much, another who will not take it. Is this my legacy?" Deep down, this situation amused Loki greatly, but he held that from showing. He could not give himself away to Thor.

"Loki died with honour. I shall try to live the same. Is that not legacy enough?" Honour. Loki thought. He thinks I died with honour. It warmed his heart to see how his brother thought of him. He saw Thor offering Mjolnir to him. Part of him soared at this opportunity, but he held that down and continued to pretend he was Odin.

"It belongs to you. If you are worthy of it."

"I shall try to be."

"I cannot give you my blessing, nor can I wish you good fortune."

"I know."

"If I were proud of the man my son had become, even that I could not say, I would speak only from my heart. Go, my son."

"Thank you, father." Loki watched as Thor left. As soon as he was gone, he left the disguise fall.

"No, thank you," he murmured, thoughts racing as he went over the conversation in his head. Then Odin's words from earlier echoed in his mind. You may not speak with anyone but myself. Or else. I will be watching. Loki swallowed. He did not know what punishment Odin would give him, but he was afraid.

"You handled that well." Loki's head snapped round, to see Odin stood to the side of the throne, partially hidden by pillars. Loki glanced down, realising he was still in the throne, and he shot to his feet. Guilt was written all over his face.

"Thor was coming, and you weren't back, I panicked... This was the first idea that came to mind. I'm sorry, father, I know you said not to speak to anyone else..."

"Loki, what are you afraid of? I was here when Thor was arriving. I stayed out of your sight to see what you would do. I was testing you. Are you ready to be honest with me?"

"...I don't think I can." Odin gave him a questioning look, so he elaborated, "I realise now, as you do, that what I have told you, the excuses I have given... they are lies. Lies I told myself so I would feel better. Because what I've done... I do not know why I did it, father. And once I started, it was hard to stop myself continuing down that path..." He dropped to his knees. "I have been honest with you, as honest as I can be. So what are you going to do with me now?" He looked up at Odin, his eyes full of a mixture of fear and hope.

"When Thor disobeyed me, and attempted to attack Jotunheim, I stripped him of his power and sent him to Midgard. He learnt his lesson there, rather too well as you so aptly pointed out." Odin gave a wry smile then looked down at Loki. "Perhaps the same punishment will work for you. I will take your magic from you, and send you to live as a mortal on Midgard. However I cannot take from you your heritage, so be careful not to frighten the mortals by turning -"

"Into the monster I truly am. I understand, but father, they will recognise me. I tried to conquer them! They will not let me live in peace. Sending me there is a death sentence, please father, don't do this-"

"This is the punishment I deem befitting of your crimes, Loki!" Loki fell silent, staring fearfully up at Odin. "You will be sent down to Midgard. I will not send you via the Bifrost, but via another means, that the mortals will not detect. Once there, it will be up to you to blend in and not draw the attention of mortals who will hurt you, but should they find you, I'm sure Thor will-"

"Don't tell him about me, please. I will accept your punishment and go to Midgard, but please, do not tell Thor I tricked him. I've put him through enough pain already, knowing what I have done will just hurt him further. I will stay hidden, I know I can do it. Please, don't tell Thor..."

"Very well. I will not tell him unless your life depends on him coming to your rescue." Loki showed signs of protest, but Odin silenced him with a glare. "So, it is decided then. You will leave tonight, under cover of darkness." With that Odin turned and left, leaving Loki cuffed to the throne, on his knees, staring at the wall and anticipating what was to come.


	2. Chapter 1: Blending In

Loki's alarm clock made a loud trilling sound. It was incredibly annoying, but it did its job well. He bolted upright and fumbled for the clock to shut it off as quickly as possible. Once he was awake, he had to get out of bed. He wasn't one of those people who could just lie in bed for ages after waking up. Besides, it wouldn't take long for Thumper to get impatient for his breakfast. The rabbit would hear Loki's alarm from his hutch in the kitchen, and if Loki hadn't come through and fed him within about five minutes, he'd start kicking. Loki had originally assumed that was where the original owner had got the idea for his name from, until a woman at work had introduced him to Bambi.

Loki had adopted Thumper from a local animal shelter about three months after he arrived on Earth. On weekends, Loki went to the shelter to volunteer. He'd met Thumper on his first day. The black and brown dwarf lop was shy; cautious around people, having been mistreated at his previous home. He'd quickly warmed to Loki though, and Loki had fallen in love with the one-eyed rabbit. It only took a couple of weeks for Loki to get the hutch set up and adopt Thumper. Thumper had rapidly become very friendly, towards Loki at least. He still got a bit shy when Loki had company round, but that didn't happen often.

It was six months now since Loki had been banished. He slipped out of bed and wandered into the kitchen. He opened the door of the hutch and Thumper hopped over to the doorway.

"Good morning, Thumper. Sleep well?" Loki asked, reaching in and stroking the rabbit's head. He smiled, then stood up to get some cabbage leaves for Thumper. He turned back to the hutch and found Thumper sat patiently in the doorway, waiting for his breakfast. Loki smiled again and murmured, "Good boy, Thumper." He walked back to the hutch and placed the cabbage in front of Thumper. The rabbit grabbed the food and pulled it inside before eating it. Loki turned away, leaving the door of the hutch open. He'd trained the rabbit to use a tray in the corner of the kitchen as a toilet, and since then the rabbit had been allowed out around the flat during the day, even when Loki was out. When Loki was sat on the sofa, eating or watching TV, Thumper would often hop up on the sofa and sit next to him. Thumper was a very intuitive rabbit, as he seemed to be able to sense when Loki needed cheering up, and when he needed to be left alone.

After feeding Thumper, Loki prepared his own breakfast. This morning he didn't feel particularly adventurous, so he elected to stick with just plain cereal today. He went into the living room and sat on the sofa to eat, putting on the TV to watch the morning news. It wasn't long before Thumper came and sat beside him, placing his head against Loki's thigh. Loki chatted to him about some of the news stories, knowing the rabbit didn't understand, but it was nice to talk to someone.

When he'd finished eating and was bored of the news, Loki placed his breakfast things in the dishwasher, then headed through to the bathroom to shower. Thumper tried to follow him, as usual, but he shooed the rabbit out.

"No, Thumper, you may not shower with me. You may want to now, but I guarantee you, as soon as the water starts you will feel differently. Now go play with your toys." He used his foot to gently guide Thumper out of the door before shutting it firmly and stripping off. He took his time in the shower, relishing the feeling of the warm water running down his body. Eventually he turned off the water and stepped out. He placed a towel on his head and wrapped his hair in it. He hadn't had a haircut since he came to Earth, and his hair had grown quite long as a result. He tended to tie most of his hair back, but he left his long fringe - which Rachel at work informed him was an 'emo' fringe, whatever that meant - over his face because he was worried about being recognised. Most people in Washington probably wouldn't recognise him, but Captain America was a regular customer in the bookshop where Loki worked, and Loki was actually quite surprised the Captain had not recognised him already. When he had first arrived on Earth, he had been in New York, and there he had been incredibly paranoid about being recognised. He had attempted to bleach his hair back then, to change his appearance as much as possible. The top portion of his hair was now his natural black again from where it had grown, but the lower portion remained a sandy brown colour. Loki had hated this at first, but Rachel had helped him to see his hair in a new light, and now he was quite pleased with his hair, although he could be a little sensitive about it when people mocked him for it.

He padded through to his bedroom, towel wrapped around his waist, and opened his wardrobe to find something to wear. A small thump informed him that Thumper had followed him through, and he smiled. He threw a pair of black skinny jeans onto his bed, then pulled out a pair of t-shirts. Holding them up, he turned to Thumper.

"What d'you reckon, Thumper? Plain forest green, or the black with a silly Thor design?" The t-shirt in question had a depiction of Thor's hammer from the old mythology, and around it read 'When your only solution is a hammer, every problem looks like Loki'. Loki had seen the top when out shopping with Rachel, who was looking for Avengers themed clothing, and it had amused him so much she insisted on buying it for him. Of course, she hadn't got the full extent of the joke, not knowing that her colleague 'Luke Smith' was in fact the exiled God of Mischief.

Thumper's only reaction to Loki's question was to twitch his nose, as rabbits are wont to do. But Loki had his own interpretation of what he was saying. He frowned thoughtfully. "I know he might be in today, he's been absent for three days. D'you really think he'd find this one funny?" He indicated the Thor t-shirt as he spoke, and again Thumper twitched his nose. "Well, that settles it then." With that, he threw the Thor t-shirt onto the bed with the jeans and pushed the rejected one back into his wardrobe.

Having decided on the main elements of his outfit, he selected a green belt with a gold buckle, and socks with a green leafy pattern. Of course, no one would see his socks under his dark green converse, but it mattered to him that they made up for the lack of green in his other garments. After dressing, he began work on his hair, brushing it and drying it, and then tying it back with a green hair tie. He looked at himself in the mirror, smiling through his long fringe. He liked it long, but it could possibly do with a trim soon. It was the only part of his hair which had been trimmed at all in the six months he'd been on Earth.

"What d'you think, Thumper? How do I look?" Thumper twitched his nose. He had hopped up onto the bed, and was sat at the end of it, just behind where Loki was stood, with his front paws up on the bed frame. Loki reached down and strokes the rabbit's head, smiling. "I love you, Thumper. You're my best friend." A reminder alarm went off on Loki's phone, and after dismissing it, he stood up, heading for the door. "Time for work then, Thumper. I'll see you this evening. Be good!" Thumper hopped through to the doorstep with him, and while Loki put his shoes on, Thumper reached up on his hind legs to sniff at Loki's coat, which was hung on the wall by the door. Loki rolled his eyes. "I probably won't need my coat, Thumper, it's been pretty warm." Thumper kicked loudly, and Loki smiled. "Alright, alright, I'll wear my coat. I suppose it might be chilly by the time I come home..." He reached down and stroked the rabbit's head once more before he slipped out the door, shutting it firmly behind him, making sure that Thumper stayed inside. He didn't often try anymore, preferring to stay in familiar surroundings, but Loki was always cautious. Paranoia had become a big problem for him, and although he was getting over the worst of it, the constant fear of discovery that had plagued him since he first arrived in New York, he still worried a lot about his rescue bunny. He didn't know what he'd do without Thumper. That rabbit meant an awful lot to him.

It was only a short walk to work for Loki. He arrived a few minutes early, but as always, Rachel had beaten him there. She was a perky young woman, small and bubbly. Her hair was a dark brown colour, except for the bottom inch which she'd dyed red. She looked up and smiled warmly at Loki when he entered the bookstore.

"Mornin' Luke. You have a nice night yesterday?"

"It was okay. Finally finished reading Lord of the Rings. You're right, the ending of the book was much better than in the film. Than any of the endings in the film." Rachel laughed at that. Every Friday evening for the last three months they'd had movie night together, and the night they'd watched Return of the King Loki had been getting increasingly desperate for the toilet as they neared the end, but was loathe to pause the film when it was nearly over. The many false endings to the film had been a source of great frustration for Loki, and Rachel had been sat on the other end of the sofa struggling to contain her laughter as she watched Loki, perched on the edge of his seat, tense and ready to sprint to the bathroom when the move finally finished. When it finally had, Loki had fled the room to the sound of Rachel's howling laughter. Just the mention of the multiple endings was enough to give her the giggles after that.

"Any ideas what you want to watch tomorrow night?" she asked, after recovering from her laughing fit.

"Not sure. A musical maybe? I don't really mind. Surprise me." She gave him a mischievous smile.

"Surprise you? A dangerous request Mr. Smith. You have no idea what I could throw at you."

"Yes, but I know you enjoy our movie nights too much to go too far... You wouldn't want me to cancel them, would you?" He returned her mischievous smile. "Come on, we'd better get to work."

It was only a small bookstore, and Thursdays, for some reason, never seemed to be particularly busy. Loki and Rachel were the often the only ones in store on a Thursday, although of course the manager was upstairs if they needed him. But they rarely did. This particular Thursday was relatively quiet, so Loki spent most of the morning sorting books in the back of the store, while Rachel ran the front of the store, serving customers when they were there, and tidying the shelves when they weren't.

Sorting books was a leisurely task, which often took Loki more time than it should have, as he would often stop to read the blurb on a book, and make note of ones he thought seemed interesting. And sometimes he would begin to read part of a book as he sorted. Because of this habit of his, Rachel had a tendency to pop her head through the door every so often to make sure he was getting some work done at least. After one of the occasions that this happened, instead of placing the small green book in the box he'd been sorting it into, he placed it on a shelf next to him. He'll like that, he thought. Then he returned to sorting the other books.

It was around half past twelve when Rachel called him through to the front of the store. She handed him some money and sent him down the road to Subway to buy them lunch. When he got back they sat behind the till together, chatting as they ate. Loki was just finishing his drink when the 'rush' began. Enough customers to keep Loki and Rachel both busy at the front of the store. A couple of hours later it was finally calming down. Rachel was serving the last customer, and Loki was reorganising some books that browsers had left in a jumble. He looked up out the window and saw that familiar figure strolling down the road, in his oh-so-subtle disguise of a hoodie and baseball cap. Loki smiled, and turned to Rachel.

"Head's up Rachel, Captain's coming." She grinned at him.

"You gonna talk to him today?" Loki blushed and looked away, just in time to see Captain America holding the door for the little old lady Rachel had just been serving.

"Good afternoon, Captain." Rachel smiled broadly at him.

"Rachel, how many times do I have to say it. Just call me Steve. Hi Luke. How are you?" Loki blushed slightly, and tilted his head to hide behind his fringe more. Steve's gaze drifted down to Loki's shirt, and the amused smile that crossed his face as he read it brought a smile to Loki's face and allowed him to relax slightly. "Cool t-shirt. Where'd you get it? I might have to get one for Thor next time he's in town." Loki shrugged, not remembering exactly where they'd been when Rachel decided to buy it for him, and he jerked his head in Rachel's direction, his fringe swinging across his face as he did so, blinding him. Slightly embarrassed by his carelessness with his own fringe, he brushed it back and turned away as Rachel and Steve started talking. Captain America tended to come in every few days, looking for a title from his little black book that he couldn't find elsewhere, or for a book he remembered reading in his youth that he wanted a copy of, or sometimes he just came in for a chat with Rachel. Or so it seemed to Loki. Rachel was rather of the opinion that Captain America was coming to see Luke. Loki dismissed the idea. He'd never been able to talk directly to the Captain, and on the occasions that he'd been forced to speak to Rachel in front of him, he'd managed nothing more than a mumble. Steve did always have a smile for Luke, but that was just him being friendly, wasn't it? He never tried to force conversation with Luke, and on those occasions when Loki had mumbled something to Rachel, the Captain had looked away, allowing Luke a little privacy from the man he was clearly too intimidated by to speak to.

Steve was at the counter paying for the book he'd come for today, a Michael Morpurgo book, when Loki suddenly remembered the book he'd put aside earlier. He half-dropped half-placed the books he was holding onto the table and held a finger up at Rachel as he rushed past, indicating she should wait for him. She and Steve shared a confused look as they watched him disappear into the back room. He snatched up the book, then turned and walked out with it, breathing heavily as he summoned the courage to finally speak to Captain America, for the first time since the Battle of New York.

"Umm... I-I found this book...earlier, and I, um..." Steve smiled at him, encouraging and patient as anything. "It's about a soldier, who, um... He's trying to get home to, uhh... I thought you might like it..." He trailed off into a mumble at the end, regretting his actions already, and held the book out. Steve took it and looked at the cover, trailing his fingers across the raised image on the front cover.

"The Silver Donkey. Sonya Hartnett. I've not heard of this one." He looked at it thoughtfully, opening the cover to see the blurb inside the sleeve. He read it quickly, then looked up at Loki, who was trying to make himself as small as possible, feeling incredibly embarrassed. "Sounds interesting. And I'm sure I will enjoy it, if it has your seal of approval. I trust your judgement, Luke. You should too." He smiled kindly at Loki, then turned to Rachel and handed over the book for her to add to his purchase. She was shocked by the turn of events, but she recovered herself and completed the sale.

"Thank you very much, Rachel, Luke. I'll see you around, then. Bye!" And with that, he left. As soon as he was out the door, Rachel turned to Loki.

"Oh, my god, did that seriously just happen! Luke, you spoke to him! Oh my god, I can't believe you actually spoke to him. All these times he's been in and I've tried to get you to talk to him, and you finally did it!"

"Ye-yeah," Loki replied shakily. That was a nerve-wracking experience for him, and had left him feeling very shaken. But he was happy he'd finally done it. And he hadn't been caught! Captain America hadn't recognised him! He let out a shaky breath. "I did it." He smiled.

"Yeah, you did it! You even got him to buy a book, he'd never heard of. 'I trust your judgement, Luke.' Are you still gonna tell me he's not interested? He's so into you!" Loki blushed slightly, an embarrassed smile lighting his features, and he mumbled,

"C'mon, let's get back to work." He ignored Rachel's smug smirk.


	3. Chapter 2: Shelter

The manager came down, as normal, shortly after closing time, when Loki and Rachel were tidying up. He smiled at the pair of them.

"Good day then?"

"It was alright," Loki murmured, hoping that Rachel wouldn't-

"Luke _spoke_ to him! To Captain America!" Loki rolled his eyes. Of course she was going to say something. The manager raised his eyebrows and looked at Loki.

"Really? You spoke to him? Well done, lad. Other than that, exciting as it must be for you," his gaze fell on Rachel here, "how was business today?" Loki smiled, amused.

"It was good, had quite a few customers in just after lunch, and a few others dotted throughout the day." Rachel looked a little put out that the boss was not as excited by the development as she was.

"Good, well then, I guess you two can pop off now, I'll close up here." He waved them out the door together, and shut it firmly behind them. Loki smiled at Rachel.

"See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, see you." Loki began to walk away, but she stopped him abruptly. "Oh, Luke, wait!" He turned back to her, his expression quizzical. "I almost forgot, my roommate needs the apartment to herself tomorrow evening, can we do movie night at yours?"

"Sure, as long as you don't mind Thumper sitting in on it with us. And I don't have a Blu-ray player, so DVDs only, remember."

"Great! See you tomorrow then! Bye!" She waved over her shoulder as she dashed off. Loki waved back, smiling.

"Bye, then." He turned back the way he'd been heading, and continued on his way. He wasn't going straight home, instead he was heading to the animal shelter for a bit, then he had some shopping he needed to do on the way home. It was a slightly longer walk from the bookstore to the shelter than from his home to the bookstore, but he didn't mind the walk. He didn't see the point of learning to drive, not yet at least. There was always public transport as well, although unless the weather was absolutely foul he preferred to walk. He enjoyed it, found it refreshing. And it was good time to think. He reflected on the day, particularly the 'conversation' with Steve. It wasn't much of a conversation really, but it was a lot more than he'd ever managed before. And Steve hadn't recognised his voice! That may have been related to the stammer his nerves had given him, but Loki was willing to bet that even if he hadn't stammered he still wouldn't have been recognised. It was a big confidence boost. _Maybe I'll talk to him every time he comes in now. Get to know him, make friends, maybe..._ Loki cut off that train of thought before it went too far. Steve was a nice guy, sure, and maybe he was good looking too, but Loki wasn't going to go there. Probably not with anyone, but especially not with Steve. Eventually he'd have to tell the truth about who he was, or he would encounter one of the other Avengers and they might recognise him... and that would not end well. Even befriending Steve could be a bad idea, but he was too nice to not make friends with. _And it's nice to make friends independently of Thor, even if Steve is friends with Thor already._

He was so deep in thought that it seemed to take no time at all to walk to the shelter, Loki's body going on autopilot the whole way. He'd walked this route often enough recently that it was programmed into his muscles and required a minimum amount of attention. He'd started out just volunteering on weekends, and on days when he was off work. But recently he'd been going after work a lot, and sometimes before as well, because of a young family of kittens he'd brought in three weeks previously. Their mother had been a stray that he'd found dead by the side of the road. The poor thing had been run over, leaving her five kittens, estimated to be around two or three weeks old, orphaned. Loki had picked them up and taken them to the shelter to be cared for until they were old enough to be adopted out.

Loki walked into the shelter and was greeted by a cheery fellow in his late sixties.

"Evenin' Luke! Here for them kittens o' yours again? Lilian's just checkin' in on 'em for ya."

"Hello Walter. I'll probably be doing more than just the kittens, but yes, they're my main reason for coming. How's it been today? Any new residents? Any adoptions?"

"Had some interest in some of the dogs, and someone put their name down for one o' your kittens. We 'ad a rabbit come in, but the poor lad were too far gone, had ter put 'im to sleep."

"Oh dear. Poor bunny. Nice to have some interest in the kittens, though. I'd better get through and help Lilian."

"Yeah, she'll be glad o' the 'elp. Them young'uns need a lot o' care." Loki smiled and walked past Walter through to the back room where the kittens were being kept. Lilian, Walter's thirty-nine year-old daughter, was sat next to the cage containing the five kittens Loki had rescued. She looked up when he walked in, brushing back her long blonde hair.

"Heya Lukey. How's my favourite volunteer? And his lovely little rabbit?"

"I'm fine, and Thumper's doing great. He reminded me to bring my coat out today, I'd have forgotten without him, and it's gotten quite chilly." They smiled at each other. Loki walked over to her and looked in at the five fluffy bodies. They were climbing over each other, mewling loudly, except for one, the smallest of the litter. She had greyish-brown fur, which stuck up all over the place making her look scruffy and wild. And she was absolutely tiny. Loki reached in and picked her up. He frowned slightly, "She's not gaining much, is she? What's wrong sweetie? Why aren't you gaining weight, hmm? Are they stealing your food?" He glanced up at Lilian.

"I'm doing my best to make sure she gets food, but her siblings are quite pushy, and she's very weak. She certainly seems very fond of you, though," Lilian smiled as the kitten rubbed herself against Loki's hand, mewling at him for food. Loki smiled at the kitten, and began feeding her.

"Walter mentioned someone put their name down for a kitten?" Lilian nodded and picked up one of the larger kittens, a fluffy grey one.

"This one, specifically. They've named him Smudge, because of the black stripe on his tummy." She turned the kitten over to show Loki.

"So when does the adoption happen?"

"Two weeks." As if she could read Loki's mind, she said, "Shall I put your name down as wanting to adopt the little one?" She nodded towards the kitten in Loki's hands, and he smiled.

"I'm not sure... I can't keep adopting pets from here, but she's so adorable... How would she get on with Thumper? I have to take that into account..."

"I'm sure Thumper would get on very well with her. Because she's so small and weak, I wouldn't want to let just anyone adopt her, it needs to be someone who really knows what they're doing, and understands that she needs special care, or she might not survive... I'm thinking of transferring her into a separate cage so she doesn't get pushed around by the others as much. Give her a better chance. She'd have a good chance with you, Luke." He sighed, looking down at the little kitten.

"I'll think about it."

\- - - -

He spent about an hour at the shelter, helping to feed the animals and clean out some of the cages. Then he said goodbye to Lilian and Walter, and walked down to the shops. He didn't need much, just milk really, and some food for Thumper, but as often happens with shopping, he ended up buying more than he initially intended. He went to the pet store first, before they closed, and bought a bag of food, then looked briefly at the toys for rabbits. That was where he found he first extra item, a harness and lead. He thought he could get Thumper used to them, then maybe they could go for walks in the park. It would look unusual, but Loki didn't care about that anymore. He didn't care about standing out, and he thought Thumper would really enjoy getting to go outside more often.

Then he went to buy milk, and he got some carrots as well, another treat for Thumper, and he gave in to the chocolate cake that had been tempting him for some time. He also bought some cheesy bread sticks and a bag of popcorn, thinking ahead to the following night, knowing snacks would be his responsibility this time. Then it was time to head home.

He had two choices for the route home. He could either go the long way, via the main roads, or the short way, through the alleys. Remembering the roadworks that had blocked most of the footpath on one of the main roads, he elected to go the short way. It wasn't quite late enough for the lighting to be an issue, but Loki wouldn't have minded much anyway. He didn't mind the solitude it provided either, in fact he often preferred it to walking alone through the crowds of people that sometimes filled the streets. He felt lonely in the crowds, but when it was just him, he felt peaceful. Content.

Even the short route was still quite a long walk, and Loki had no reason to hurry home. He strolled down the street and then into the alley. Despite having already spent the entirety of the walk to the shelter thinking about Steve, Loki's thoughts were quickly drawn back to the man out of time. He thought back to his encounter with Steve in Germany. The first time they'd met. Loki hadn't exactly made a good first impression, but then again, he had been evil at the time. The impression he'd made as Luke didn't feel much better, although if Rachel was right about Steve's 'crush', it was a lot better than Loki thought. The first time Steve had come in, Loki had made a strange noise, which Rachel later likened to a goose being strangled. Animal lover that he was, he didn't much appreciate the comparison, but he could just about see where she was coming from. After his strangled goose noise, he had attempted to hide behind the bookshelf. Steve had been rather bemused by his behaviour, but after flashing a reassuring smile in Loki's direction, he'd turned to Rachel to ask her about the books he was searching for. Sherlock Holmes. It was something he had encountered during the war, when working alongside Britons, and he was interested in owning copies for himself now. The next few times Steve had come in, Loki had continued to hide from him, but eventually he built up the courage to continue to do his job, as long as Rachel served Steve. Since then he had gradually been gaining confidence around Steve, but today had been a massive leap forward.

Halfway home, he was suddenly jolted out of his reverie by a man running past him, knocking into his shoulder. The stranger darted down a side alley, one that Loki knew to be a dead end. He followed the man, clearly fleeing something, and found him stood in the middle of the alley, staring at the brick wall that blocked his path. Loki coughed quietly and indicated the large bin next to the back door of an apartment building. They could hear the pursuer's footsteps approaching, and so the stranger ducked behind the bin. Loki crouched next to the bin, as if he was searching for something, and looked at the stranger. But before he could take in much of the man's appearance, the footsteps reached the end of the alley, and a very familiar voice called out, "Luke?" Loki turned, shock evident on his face. But he'd already committed himself to protecting this stranger from whoever was pursuing him. He stood and faced the pursuer.

"Ca- Steve. Is... Is everything al-alright?" Having stuttered earlier, he knew it wouldn't sound suspicious for him to be stuttering now.

"Uhhh... Sort of... What were you looking at?" Steve was fidgety, clearly anxious to find the man he was chasing.

"I saw a stray cat... the other day... a-around here... Wanted to check - make sure it's okay..." He mumbled slightly near the end, playing into the nervous wreck he'd set himself up as earlier. "It's not here now," he continued, "Gone away." Steve smiled slightly, still fidgeting.

"Right... Umm, you haven't by any chance... seen a man around here? Today? Long dark hair, grubby clothes - he's been living on the streets - 'bout this tall?" He held up his hand in an estimation of the stranger's height. Loki blinked, and shook his head. Steve stamped his foot in frustration. "Goddammit! Lost him _again_!"

"Wh-who is he?" Loki paused for a moment, before blurting out, "Ishedangerous?" He didn't think the man looked dangerous, but Loki knew very well how deceiving appearances could be, and if Captain America was chasing this man...

"He's..." Steve paused, thinking. "He's an old friend. He's not... He _can_ be dangerous, but if you stay out of his way, you should be safe." Loki nodded, but then frowned as he realised the implications of this being 'an old friend' of Steve's. Steve noticed and added, "It's complicated." Loki waited, hoping for an explanation, but Steve chose to change the subject instead. "It's pretty late, you should get home. I could walk you there, if you like..." The offer shocked Loki, and he almost accepted, but he bit that response back.

"No, thanks... I'm fine. Sh-shouldn't you be... looking f-for your... friend?" he stuttered, hoping to convince Steve to leave so he could talk to the stranger. He needed to know more, and sensed that Steve wasn't going to be forthcoming with that information. And more than that, the man clearly needed help, which Loki somehow felt obliged to provide.

"Well, yeah... but he's pretty good at hiding, and he's fast too... I'm probably never gonna catch up tonight. And I thought that... maybe... you might want some company. Places like this can be dangerous-"

"I can look after myself!" Loki clapped his hands over his mouth as soon as the words came out. That had come out a lot like the old Loki, Steve's protectiveness reminding him of old arguments with Thor. Steve was shocked by the sudden outburst, but it didn't look like he'd recognised Loki. Loki took a deep breath before apologising. "S-sorry. My brother was a bit... over-protective... And I just want to be alone tonight." It was partly true, at least.

Steve smiled, and replied, "Of course. I didn't mean to upset you. I guess... guess I'd better be off now. See you around, Luke."

"See you, Steve," Loki murmured quietly, and when he looked up, Steve was gone. He walked up to the end of the alley and looked both ways, just to check, before turning back to the stranger, who had now stood up from behind the bin. Loki looked him up and down. He'd clearly been living rough for a while; Loki estimated it was about a month. His hair was long, and he had the beginnings of a beard on his chin. Loki felt a pang of envy there, being unable to grow one himself. The man at first glance looked rather healthy for someone who was likely not getting anywhere near enough food, but closer inspection revealed that he was not, and the false appearance came from the man's muscular build. Loki's eyes travelled down the man's left arm, which seemed slightly out of proportion, and they widened in shock as he took in the sight of the metal hand sticking out of the sleeve. Then he realised he was staring, and turned his gaze back to the man's face, blushing slightly. The man's expression was a jumbled mixture of confusion, guilt, fear and melancholy. Loki stepped towards him and said quietly, "Hello. I'm Loki. What's your name?" He didn't for a moment question the wisdom of giving this man his real name.

"My name is James Buchanan Barnes," was the monotone reply he got. After a moment's hesitation, the man added with a little more feeling, "Call me Bucky." Loki smiled, and continued to approach.

"Okay, Bucky, that man, the one who was chasing you-"

"Steven Grant Rogers. I knew him." He frowned slightly, as if he was struggling to remember. "I was ordered to kill him, but I knew him..." Loki nodded slowly, not quite able to fully make sense of what Bucky was saying, but he managed to grasp the gist of it.

"He told me you've been living on the streets." Bucky nodded, so Loki continued, "Would you like a place to stay? You could come home with me. I can help you..." He trailed off, not sure exactly what help he could or should offer. Bucky looked at him, unsure, suspicious. Loki added, "At least stay for one night. You can be warm, and safe, and you'll get a hot meal-" Bucky's head snapped up at the mention of food, and he nodded eagerly. Loki smiled. "Alright, well come on then." He beckoned to Bucky, and without any hesitation, Bucky followed him.

\- - - -

As soon as he put the key in the lock, Loki could hear Thumper bounding toward the door. And he felt Bucky tense behind him at the sound.

"Shh, it's okay, that's just my pet rabbit," he soothed, suddenly wondering how Thumper would react to Bucky. He hadn't considered that when he invited Bucky to stay. He pushed the door open, and Thumper was sat on the mat, looking up at him. Then he saw Bucky, and stiffened slightly, before turning and running through to the living room. Loki bit his lip and turned to Bucky. "He's a bit shy around new people." Bucky nodded in response, looking like he was rethinking his decision to come here, but the promise of food stopped him from changing his mind. He stepped inside, and Loki frowned, the light making it obvious just how filthy Bucky was. "Would you like to have a shower while I make dinner?" he offered, and Bucky nodded slowly. Loki smiled, and led Bucky through to the bathroom. He grabbed some loose trousers and a baggy t-shirt from his room and gave them to Bucky to put on after his shower. Then he headed to the kitchen to make dinner, and was confronted by Thumper, the rabbit clearly upset that Loki had brought a stranger home.

"Thumper, I know you don't like strangers, but Bucky needed help. I couldn't just leave him out on the streets..." Thumper just looked at him, and he sighed. "I know this could get complicated, but I had to do something. Steve said he wasn't dangerous unless I get in his way, and I think I can help him. I don't have to explain myself to you, Thumper. I've made my mind up, you'll just have to deal with it. Now move, I need to make dinner." He nudged the rabbit with his foot, gently encouraging him to get out of the way so he could get to work cooking up a stir fry for him and Bucky.

Bucky slipped into the kitchen quietly while Loki had his back turned, and he was only alerted to Bucky's presence by Thumper bounding across the room to hide behind his feet. He looked over his shoulder at Bucky.

"Dinner's almost ready. Go have a seat on the sofa, I'll bring the food through in a moment." Bucky nodded and left as quietly as he'd entered. Loki looked down at Thumper at said, "You're just being silly now. He's not going to hurt you Thumper. I promise." Thumper hopped away from Loki and poked his nose through the doorway, looking at Bucky on the sofa. Loki smiled and shook his head, turning back to the food. He turned off the heat and put it on plates, which he then carried through to the living room. Bucky was perched on the edge of the sofa, clearly not comfortable with the concept of making himself comfortable. Loki handed him a plate and sat beside him. Thumper hopped over and sat himself on Loki's feet, looking up at Bucky. Bucky eyed the rabbit nervously, unsure how to react to him.

They ate in silence, and when they were both done, Loki took the plates back through to the kitchen. He came back to find Thumper had hopped up onto the sofa and was sniffing at Bucky, who looked absolutely terrified. Loki smiled and scooped up the rabbit so he could sit down. He placed Thumper on his lap and gently took Bucky's hand.

"Here, just stroke him, like this. Don't be scared, he's not going to hurt you." He pulled Bucky's hand to Thumper's head, but Bucky pulled it back.

"I'm worried that I'll hurt him," was Bucky's timid reply. Loki raised his eyebrows, but continued to manoeuvre Bucky's hand into position to stroke Thumper.

"Just be gentle, I promise you won't hurt him." He released Bucky's hand, and very carefully, Bucky continued to stroke Thumper. Thumper lifted his head slightly, not satisfied with the amount of contact he was getting. Bucky smiled slightly and glanced up at Loki, who was smiling very proudly. Bucky swallowed slightly, working up the nerve to ask Loki something.

"You told me your name is Loki, but Steve called you Luke. Why?" he asked.

"My real name is Loki, but Steve knows me as Luke because... I did some very bad things." He swallowed, but resolved himself to be completely honest.

"Like what?"

"I killed eighty people in two days. And that was before I attacked the SHIELD helicarrier and opened a portal above New York that enabled an alien invasion. I enslaved a SHIELD agent and turned him against them. Before I came to Earth I tried to murder my father and sent a robot to Earth to kill my brother, and I tried to destroy an entire race because I found out that I was adopted." Bucky gaped. "Now I understand that I was evil, that what I did was wrong, and I hate myself for it. My father, my _adoptive_ father exiled me to Earth to live as a mortal as punishment for my crimes on Asgard, and I try to avoid discovery so I can try to make up for what I did. I know I never will, but even the little I can do is something. Luke Smith is the name I use to hide my true identity."

"So Steve doesn't know who you really are?" Loki shook his head. "What would he do if he found out?"

"I don't know, but he fought me when I invaded Earth, so his reaction would probably end badly for me." Bucky nodded, trying to make sense of the information Loki had given him. Loki decided to ask Bucky, "Why were you running from Steve?" Bucky grimaced, but he was hardly going to withhold the answer after Loki had been so honest with him.

"Hydra... They made me kill people. I was their secret weapon. They called me the Winter Soldier. They wiped my memories... and now my head is a mess. I can't make sense of things..." He gripped his head, a pained expression on his face. "I was friends with Steve when we were children, we fought side by side during the war, and then he was my mission. I was ordered to kill him, but when he knew it was me, when I wasn't in the way of his mission, he wouldn't fight me. He told me my name, and told me I was his friend. He said... 'I'm with you 'til the end of the line'... I know that phrase..." Loki placed his hands on Bucky's shoulders as he began to rock back and forth, and made gentle shushing noises. Thumper placed his front paws on Bucky's leg and stretched up to gently headbutt Bucky's arm. Bucky's breath came in ragged gasps, and tears seeped from between his scrunched up eyelids. Loki was unsure of what to do, but then he thought back to the panic attack he'd had at work after Steve's first visit, and remembered how Rachel had soothed him. He gently rubbed Bucky's back and told him to breathe, signalling the in-breath and the out-breath. He was patient, and after a few minutes Bucky managed to regain control of his breathing, and he relaxed the grip on his head. With a shaking hand he reached down to Thumper and stroked him gently, recognising that the rabbit wanted to help him just as much as Loki did.

Loki fetched Bucky a glass of water, and didn't interrogate him any further that night. They each had a slice of the chocolate cake Loki had bought, and they watched a couple of episodes of Friends. Loki made up a bed for Bucky on the sofa, and put Thumper back in his hutch. Then he poked his head into the living room, where Bucky was settling down into the blankets, and checked to make sure Bucky didn't need anything else, before saying goodnight and heading to bed himself. As he drifted off, he thought to himself, _Maybe helping Bucky will help to clear my conscience, maybe if I help him Steve will go easier on me when he finds out who I really am._ He smiled to himself, comforted by the idea.


	4. Chapter 3: Nightmares and Movie Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoiler alert for later if you haven't seen Lion King or Les Mis. Enjoy!

_Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump._

Loki jolted out of his slumber, looking around in confusion. _Thumpthump._ He fumbled for his phone to check the time. 2:57am. What was Thumper making such a fuss about at 2:57am? _Thumpthumpthump. THUMP._ Groaning, Loki pushed back the covers and rubbed his eyes as he sat up. He padded softly from his bedroom and through to the kitchen, and in the dim half-light coming through the window he saw the reasons for Thumper's late night thumping. Bucky was in the kitchen, sat on the floor hugging his knees in front of Thumper's hutch. He was shaking, and every so often his head would twitch to one side like he was trying to rid himself of a fly. Under his breath he was mumbling unintelligibly.

Loki reached out for the lightswitch, but then dropped his hand again, deciding against the lights. He didn't want to startle Bucky, not when he was in this state. Instead he very softly asked, "Bucky? What's wrong?" Bucky flinched slightly at the sound of Loki's voice, but other than that he did not respond. Loki chewed his lip slightly, unsure how to proceed. _THUMP!_ The rabbit was right by the door of his hutch, pushing his nose up against the bars in an attempt to reach out and comfort Bucky. Loki smiled, and slowly, taking care not to startle the soldier on the floor, slipped over to the hutch and let Thumper out. Ignoring Loki entirely, the rabbit hopped onto Bucky's knees and gently snuffled at his head. Loki sat down next to Bucky and hesitantly placed a hand on his back. Initially he tensed at the contact, but then he recognised the comforting sentiment behind the gesture and relaxed, raising his head to look straight at Thumper, who gave him a snuffly bunny kiss.

Bucky took a shaky breath, then released the death-grip on his knees and reached up to gently stroke Thumper. He blinked, and tears spilled down his cheeks. He sniffed, took another shaky breath, and he was ready to talk. His voice was thick, choked almost by his tears. "I was back - *sniff* - back with... Hydra. Th-they were going *sniff* to wipe me..." His metal hand clenched into a fist as sobs racked his body. Loki placed his hand over the top of Bucky's fist, hoping to comfort the distressed soldier.

"Wipe you? As in... wipe your memories? Brainwash you?" Bucky nodded, sniffing loudly as he struggled to control his emotions. "You're safe here, Bucky. Hydra aren't going to find you, and even if they do, I think between us we're more than a match for them." At Bucky's derisive snort he added, "Eighty people, two days. I think I can handle a few Nazis."

"I... I guess... *sniff* It just... it felt so real..."

"Nightmares always do. Especially ones based on memory... But you are safe, here, with me. I'm not going to let Hydra get you, and I can keep Captain America off your scent until you're ready to face him again." Bucky nodded, his shaking beginning to subside, and a weak smile made it to his face as he watched Thumper washing his ears. He brought his paws to his mouth, then grabbed his ear and rubbed his paws down the length of it. Loki smiled too, it was hard not to when the one-eyed rabbit was being so damn adorable.

Now that Bucky was relaxing again, Loki considered suggesting that they return to the living room, but Bucky appeared comfortable enough here. After all, he was a soldier, and had been living rough recently. He was probably used to sleeping in uncomfortable environments. So instead Loki settled himself into a more comfortable position, and Bucky followed suit, stretching his legs out and leaning into Loki. Thumper settled himself on Bucky's lap with his head resting on Loki's. Both men had one hand on the bunny, stroking him as they fell asleep. Bucky's metal arm was lying limp between them, and Loki's other arm was wrapped around Bucky.

\- - - -

Having been awoken in the middle of the night, and being in the kitchen rather than tucked up in bed, Loki slept through his alarm. Bucky however, being more of a light sleeper, was woken by the distant noise, and was momentarily very confused to find himself on a kitchen floor in a place that was entirely unfamiliar with a stranger asleep on his shoulder. Then Thumper hopped out of his hutch, where he had been eating some of the dry food Loki put in at bedtime. Bucky tensed at first, then he remembered the night before, and relaxed, more than he had for a long time. Something about Loki made him feel a lot safer.

Smiling, he began to gently nudge Loki awake. "Loki... Wake up, Lokes... Rise and shine..." Loki stirred, batting Bucky away sleepily. "Go 'way," he mumbled, turning away to snuggle into a non-existent pillow. Bucky grinned. Half-asleep Loki was adorable, and there was something... familiar...

_"C'mon Stevie, time to get up," Bucky was prodding a skinny blond boy, who coughed slightly, opening one eye and mumbling,_

_"G'way, Buck, I'm tiiiirrrreeedd," stretching out the last word with a yawn. He rolled away, batting sleepily at Bucky when he continued his efforts to rouse the boy. Bucky sat back, frowning slightly._

_"Steve, get your ass out of bed, or I'll make you get up," he threatened, but his tone was playful. Steve just buried himself deeper into the blankets, trying to make up for the warmth Bucky had removed when he moved away. "Alright, punk, you asked for it." He scooped the boy up off the bed, taking the blankets with him, and carried his bundle out of the room and dumped him on the sofa, gently enough to avoid a cloud of dust but still enough to jolt Steve fully awake. The tiny blond dug himself out of the blankets and glared at Bucky._

_"Jerk," he muttered._

Bucky's eyes snapped open. He was curled in a ball on the kitchen floor, hands on his head, shaking and crying. Loki, now fully awake, was knelt by him, face full of concern. He look slightly scared to touch Bucky, and one of his arms was clutched to his chest. Thumper was sat next to him, but when Bucky looked up the rabbit hopped forward and nuzzled into his chest, recognising that Bucky was himself again, no longer a threat. Bucky's breath was coming in gasps, and he looked up at Loki, terrified by the flashback and by the implications of Loki holding his arm like that.

"Bucky? Are you...?" Loki wasn't even sure what he was asking, but Bucky pushed himself up and scooped Thumper into his arms for a hug. He gave Loki a look as if to say, 'I'm not comfortable with asking for human contact but I could really use a hug right now.' Loki shuffled closer and wrapped one arm around Bucky, keeping the other close to his chest. Bucky buried his face in Loki's shoulder.

"Di-did I...?"

"You were writhing on the floor, and I got too close. Thumper tried to keep me back, but I didn't listen to him. I think it's just bruised."

"S-sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Shh... I know, I know. You weren't in control. Do you want to talk-" Bucky shook his head violently, still buried in Loki's shoulder. Loki nodded, patting him gently, "Okay pet, that's fine, shh... It's okay. You'll be fine... Shh..." It took about ten minutes for Bucky to relax sufficiently for him to push away from Loki. His eyes were now puffy and red, swollen from the sheer volume of tears he had shed recently. Thumper wriggled out of his arms and hopped out of the kitchen, heading for Loki's room, where his alarm was still trilling away.

Loki reached out to wipe Bucky's cheek. He stood and helped Bucky up, guiding him to the sink to splash his face with water. Thumper returned to the kitchen holding Loki's phone in his mouth, and approached Loki. He dropped the phone at Loki's feet for him to silence the irritating alarm. Bucky smirked and said, "Thought it was dogs that fetch things." The tears were still clogging his throat, making his voice sound thick and hoarse. Loki smiled at him, placing his phone on the table after dismissing the alarm.

"Thumper is just as good as any dog." He scooped the rabbit up and cuddled him for a moment, before setting him down again and going to sort out a morning treat for him. "So Bucky," he said over his shoulder as he selected a small carrot for Thumper. Normally the rabbit would only get the trimmings, but after what he'd done for Bucky, Loki thought he deserved a whole one. "What d'you fancy for breakfast?" Bucky shrugged, not really bothered.

"I dunno, whatever you want."

"Pancakes sound good?" Bucky nodded, and the two set about making pancakes together. Loki was being very careful with his left wrist, the one that had been caught in the iron grip of Bucky's metal arm. He tried not to make a big deal out of it, because every time he winced he could see the guilt flash across Bucky's face. They ate at the table this morning, and chatted amicably, Bucky asking about Loki's life, and occasionally sharing small details about himself. They were nearly finished eating when Bucky felt up to sharing the details of his episode earlier.

"My flashback earlier..." he began, putting down his cutlery and clenching his metal fist. Loki automatically reached out his good hand and placed it atop Bucky's clenched fist. Bucky smiled weakly before continuing, "Waking you up... reminded me of Steve... back when he was all scrawny..." Loki frowned slightly at that, and Bucky was surprised, "Didn't you know? He used to be this scrawny, sickly little guy. He was hopeless in a fight, but that didn't stop him picking one with every bully in town." His tone was a mixture of affectionate and exasperated. He shook his head slightly, "The number of fights I pulled him out of back then... But he used to be really hard to wake up. The way you batted me away and rolled over... He used to do that..." Bucky's smile was sad, he missed the old days, even though it was hard for him to sort the memories out and reminisce properly. Loki smiled back at him, brushing his fringe back from his face. Then the clock caught his eye.

"Oh crap!" he exclaimed, suddenly jumping up from the table. "I need to get ready for work!" He dashed out of the room, leaving a bemused Bucky to clear the table. He heard the shower running as Loki stepped in for a quick rinse. Loki barely paid any attention to what he was pulling out of the cupboard, and forgot to be careful of his arm. Bucky heard his cry of pain and was in the bedroom in a flash.

"Loki?! Are you-?" He cut himself off at the sight of Loki, still wearing nothing but a towel round his waist, clutching his wrist. Bucky blushed slightly, and Loki grimaced.

"Thank you for your concern Mr Barnes, but-"

"Sergeant Barnes," he corrected automatically. Loki nodded his recognition of the appropriate title.

"Sergeant Barnes. But I just knocked my wrist is all, so I would appreciate if you could leave my room and allow me to dress in peace." Bucky nodded and began to back out.

"Sorry, Lokes, I just heard you yelping and got worried." He paused in the doorway and asked, "Are you sure you're okay to work today?" Loki nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I dug a wrist support bandage out of the cupboard in the bathroom." He waved it in the air, and Bucky nodded before ducking out of Loki's room. Loki dressed swiftly, slipping his arm into the bandage and folding it so it covered the required area comfortably. He brushed his hair and tied it back before emerging from the bedroom to find Bucky curled up on the sofa, with Thumper sat on his chest.

"I'm leaving now, Bucky." Bucky glanced up and nodded at him, before turning his eyes back to the TV. Loki smiled, before grabbing his coat and shoes, and heading out the door. Thumper didn't even come to say goodbye, which was probably a good thing, as Loki did not have time for any more delays.

\- - - -

He arrived at work four minutes late, which was pretty good considering how his morning had gone. Rachel frowned at him as he hurried into the shop.

"You're late Luke, that's not like you." Then she noticed the bandage on his arm as he swept his fringe back. "Oh my God Luke, what happened?!"

"It's fine, nothing really, just had a little fall this morning, twisted my wrist a bit. Don't worry about it." With his good arm he reached back unconsciously and began to rub at his neck, which was beginning to feel the stiffness that comes from sleeping sat on the kitchen floor against a cupboard with a super-soldier. That was one detail Bucky had been able to share; Hydra had used chemicals to enhance his abilities and turn him into a super-soldier.

"What's wrong with your neck?" Rachel asked, walking over to him, concern etched into her features. Loki frowned in confusion, before realising that he was rubbing his neck.

"Oh, right. Dunno, guess I slept awkwardly. It's nothing, don't worry about me. Let's just get to work, hey?"

"Good idea. Oh hey, I've got a bunch a of DVDs in my bag ready for tonight, should be plenty for you to choose from. Loki froze. He'd forgotten all about movie night. And he didn't even know if Bucky would still be there when he got home. He'd only agreed to stay for one night, but this morning he'd seemed pretty comfortable... "Luke? Hey Luke!" Rachel was snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Hmm, what? Oh, sorry, just... last night I had an unexpected visit from an old friend, I forgot all about movie night. He tends to come and go as he pleases, so I don't know if he'll be home or not tonight. But I'm sure he won't mind us having movie night together."

"I'd be happy for him to join us, if he's interested. It'll be nice to meet one of your friends." Loki smiled at her, then shrugged his coat off and reminded her that they needed to get to work. Jeanie was on holiday, so this Friday it was just the two of them.

The rest of the morning passed as normal, with nothing worthy of note taking place, other than Loki having difficulty carrying some of the heavier books due to his wrist. Any time Rachel commented, he brushed it off and assured her it was nothing, he was fine. On Rachel's insistence, he did take some painkillers, but other than that he just got on with his job.

Lunchtime rolled around, and this time it was Loki's turn to watch the shop while Rachel popped out to get food. Loki found himself sitting at the counter, holding a ruler on the edge and flicking the overhanging end. It was a childish pass-time, but Loki found the noise very satisfying. _Ba-doi-oi-oi-oing. Ba-doi-oi-oi-oing. Ba-doi-oi-oi-oing._

"Aren't you a little old for that, Luke?" joked a friendly, familiar voice. Loki looked up to see Captain America stood just inside the door, followed by a man he vaguely recognised from the news reports back in April, when the whole Hydra-SHIELD kerfuffle happened, and behind him was Black Widow. Immediately when he saw her his head tilted forward to allow his fringe to swing across his face. She could not be allowed to see him.

"H-hi, Steve," he stuttered. With Rachel gone he really had no choice but to talk to him. "Wh-wh- *cough* B-back so s-soon? You were here... yesterday..." he was genuinely confused. Steve had never visited two days in a row before. And he'd never brought friends either.

"I just wanted to check in on you after last night, make sure you'd got home safe." Loki blushed slightly, touched by Steve's concern. "Uhh, these are my friends, Sam and Natasha. Guys, this is Luke."

"Nice to meet you, Luke. Cool shirt." Loki smiled weakly at Sam, then glanced down at his shirt, having no idea what he'd thrown on in his hurry this morning. It was another shirt he'd bought with Rachel. It was a Captain America shirt, him throwing his shield, captioned, 'The Star-Spangled Man With A Plan'. Loki's face turned bright red, and he mumbled,

"Rachel bought it for me." Steve smiled, then Natasha spoke up.

"Hey, Steve, why don't you sign it for him." Now it was Steve's turn to blush, and Loki gave her his best death-glare while still hiding behind his fringe. Apparently this was a rather comical look, as Sam started sniggering, while Natasha looked away, trying to hide her smile. Irritated, Loki reached up with his left hand to brush his hair back, and immediately regretted it.

"Luke, what happened?!" Steve stepped forward, his face emanating concern for his friend. Loki looked at his wrist briefly before trying to hide under the desk.

"I-it's nothing... I fell in the shower. Twisted it." He couldn't look Steve in the eye, and he hoped desperately that Natasha would not call him out on his lie. Experience had taught him how shrewd she was, and he really didn't want to blow his cover. Somehow, she failed to detect his deception on this occasion.

Steve began to say something else, but at that moment Rachel returned. She stepped through the door, and Loki relaxed, only just realising how tense he had been.

"Captain, how unexpected, I wasn't expecting to see you again until Monday." She walked up to the desk and handed Loki his lunch as she spoke, looking curiously at Natasha and Sam. Loki dug in to his lunch, glad of the excuse to distance himself from the conversation. Before Steve could respond to Rachel, she addressed Natasha, "Are you Black Widow?" her voice incredulous.

Natasha smiled uncomfortably and nodded. Steve cleared his throat.

"Rachel, Natasha, Sam," he said, introducing them as quickly as he could. "And Rachel, I tell you every time, just call me Steve."

Distracted by his lunch, Loki responded without thinking. "She enjoys you saying that. Makes her feel special." It wasn't until Rachel thumped him that he realised the words had come out of his mouth. "D-did I say th-that aloud?" He looked around at everyone, noting the mild embarrassment on Rachel's face, the amusement on Sam and Natasha's faces, and oddly enough, a strange mix of amusement and pride on Steve's face. He coughed slightly, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks and decided to move the conversation along. Addressing Rachel, he explained, "St-Steve came to ch-check in on me... he was chasing s-someone last n-night, and r-ran into me..."

"Chasing someone? Who? Someone dangerous?" Rachel asked, alarm in her expression, but excitement in her tone.

"He's not all that dangerous..." began Steve, but was silenced by a glare from Natasha. He started again, "Well, he can be dangerous, very dangerous, if you get in his way, or... when he was brainwashed by Hydra-"

"H-Hydra?!" Loki coughed, feigning shock at the mention of the organisation. He looked at Steve, putting on an alarmed expression, and was mildly amused to see Steve looking slightly guilty, looking down at his toe as he dug it into the floor.

"Did you see, on the news in April, the man known as the Winter Soldier? Scary guy with a metal arm? Gave the three of us a whole lot of trouble. That's who Steve was tracking last night." Sam jumped in to explain. Loki swallowed. He had seen the footage on the news, yet somehow he had failed to connect that man with Bucky.

"Had you told me this last night, I might have reconsidered your offer to walk me home," he whispered, without even a hint of a stutter. For such a fearful whisper, he deemed the stutter unnecessary. Rachel's eyes bulged slightly.

"Woah, wait a minute, Luke are you telling me that _Captain America_ offered to walk you home, and _you said no?!_ " Sam sniggered, and Loki frowned at Rachel.

"I can look after myself," he muttered. Then he turned to Steve. "Di-did you have any luck... Did you find him?" Steve shook his head.

"He got away. He's making himself pretty hard to find. But you might want to avoid that alleyway for a while, if you can. Just in case."

"I-if he's h-homeless, he was pr-probably just p-passing through. That area... no sh-shelter, n-nowhere to h-hide... A-and it's im-imposs- you can't stay there long without... cops... or worse..." he trailed off, flashbacks to his own time on the streets threatening to take over.

"Really? How do you-?"

"Luke was homeless for a while when he first moved here. Until he met me, and I helped him find a cheap flat, got him this job to pay for it, helped him set up a life here." Loki nodded, shaking slightly, and Rachel placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him.

"I-if you w-want, I... I could p-point you to some... pl-places he's m-more likely to stay..." Despite the memories causing emotional turmoil within him, Loki spotted the opportunity to put Steve off Bucky's scent, and he jumped on it. He didn't know if Bucky would still be at his place when he got home, but he was hopeful, and even if Bucky was gone, Loki guessed he wouldn't actually be staying anywhere, rather he would be constantly moving. That was probably how he'd been living since April.

Steve smiled at Loki, and nodded. "Yeah, if you could, that'd be great." Loki pulled a map of the city out, preferring to work on paper and sensing that when it came to maps Steve probably preferred paper to virtual as well. After he'd shared as much knowledge with Steve as seemed necessary, Steve left with Natasha and Sam. But just before stepping out the door, he paused and said, "Oh, and Luke? Thanks for the book recommendation. I'm loving it so far." And then he was gone, leaving Loki with a warm glowy feeling in his chest.

\- - - -

At the end of work, after being dismissed by the manager, Loki and Rachel gathered their things and walked off together, heading straight for Loki's apartment. As they walked, Rachel quizzed Loki about his encounter with Steve the previous night, digging for every tiny detail she could get. Soon they arrived at the door, and then Loki began to worry. What if Bucky was still here? Calling him Bucky in front of Rachel was harmless enough, unless she brought him up in front of Steve, and then things would go bad, fast. They stepped through the door, and making a snap decision, Loki called out, "James?" Thumper hadn't come to the door, which Loki took as an indication that Bucky was still around. Loki just hoped he'd catch on and remember to call Loki-

"Luke?" Bucky stepped out of the living room, cuddling Thumper to his chest. He was putting on a brave face, but Loki could see he was nervous of Rachel.

"James, this is Rachel, a friend of mine from work. Rachel this is James. We..."

"We grew up next-door neighbours." Loki smiled at Bucky, who gently placed Thumper on the ground so he could shake Rachel's hand. He had the sense to hide his metal hand, in fact he seemed to have wrapped it in bandages. When Rachel asked he said, "Burned it a few weeks ago. Still healing." Loki smiled, impressed by how smoothly Bucky was able to lie.

"Rachel and I do movie night on Fridays, sorry I forgot to mention that to you earlier."

"S'fine. Do you want me to leave, or...?"

"No, please, join us. The more the merrier, right Luke?" Rachel said, smiling warmly at Bucky. He gave her a shy smile in return, and nodded his agreement. Loki beamed.

"Alright, Rachel, why don't you head into the living room and get out the DVDs you brought, and me and James will go fetch the snacks from the kitchen. I trust you haven't eaten them all today?"

"I haven't really eaten much today," Bucky confessed sheepishly, and Loki frowned at him.

"James, you can't just not eat all day, it's not healthy." Bucky opened his mouth to argue back, but Rachel intervened.

"How about we order some pizzas now? We can save your snacks for a little later." Reluctantly Loki agreed, and he dug out a pizza menu. They ordered three large pizzas with a variety of toppings. Rachel did seem to think it was a little excessive, but Loki dismissed it.

"He might go a while between meals sometimes, but then when you can convince him to eat James has quite an appetite. And I can save any leftovers for lunch tomorrow." From the amount of pancakes Bucky had eaten that morning, this did not seem an unreasonable assertion.

Then they turned their attention to choosing a film to watch. Most of the choices Rachel had brought were musicals, as per Loki's suggestion the previous day. There were however a few non-musical options. Loki dismissed _War Horse_ as soon as he saw it. Although he liked the sound of it, he thought it might not be a good idea to watch it with Bucky. He was unsure about _10 Things I Hate About You_ , but when Rachel said it was loosely based on a Shakespeare play, Bucky's ears pricked up.

"Which one?" he demanded.

" _The Taming Of The Shrew_." That seemed to excite Bucky further, so Loki decided to start with that film.

"We'll do a musical or two later," he insisted. The three of them settled down on the sofa, Loki in the middle with Thumper on his lap, Rachel to his right and Bucky on his left. About twenty minutes into the film the pizza arrived, so Loki paused the film while Rachel went to the door to collect it. Thumper had to be set on the floor while they ate, so he seated himself on Bucky's feet, having quickly become attached to the stranger. As it turned out, Loki had been right about Bucky's eating habits, and all of the pizza had been polished off by the end of the film (Bucky having consumed at least a pizza and a half).

They spent a little while at the end of the film chatting and laughing about the film, before Loki decided it was time to put another movie in. This time he only looked at the musicals. He selected _Les Miserables_ , then asked, "If we need a pick me up afterwards, which film would you recommend?" turning to Rachel.

"Probably _The Lion King_ would be our best bet for after _Les Mis_." Loki nodded and put that one to the side ready. Then he put _Les Mis_ in the DVD player. They decided to leave the snacks for _Lion King_ , thinking them inappropriate for _Les Mis_. Just as Loki settled down again on the sofa, Rachel leapt to her feet and dashed across the room, returning with the tissue box.

"I know what you're like Luke, you'll need these," she explained, dumping them on Loki's lap. He pulled a face at her as he started the movie. Thumper hopped up onto Bucky's lap, wriggling underneath his bandaged metal hand. Bucky smiled at the rabbit, and gently began to stroke his thumb across Thumper's head. His other hand he left resting on his knee, fingers tapping unconsciously to the rhythm of the music. He smirked when Loki first reached for a tissue, only a few minutes into the film when the Bishop gave Jean Valjean a second chance, instead of having him arrested for theft. On Loki's other side Rachel sniggered, and Loki elbowed her as he dabbed at his eyes.

There were lots of tears throughout the film, but also a few laughs (Bucky did his best to memorise the lyrics to 'Master of the House' in preparation to cheer Loki up later) but Bucky's eyes stayed dry for longest. It wasn't that he wasn't moved by the film, but with all that had happened to him, crying at fiction did not make sense to him. But at the very first gunshot, Bucky flinched, and his flesh and blood hand began to shake. Loki bit his lip, feeling guilty for subjecting Bucky to this, and gently placed his hand atop Bucky's. Their eyes met briefly, and their fingers interlocked as Bucky gently snuggled into Loki's shoulder. Rachel looked at him, struggling to hold back a giggle, but was silenced by the threatening glare she got from Bucky. Even while cowering in fear, he could still be quite intimidating.

It was Gavroche that drew the first tears from Bucky's eyes, or rather Javert placing his medal on Gavroche's lifeless chest, and from then the tears didn't stop. They were slow, silent tears, but they continued enough that Loki did take a tissue and wipe Bucky's eyes (Bucky's own hands being occupied by stroking Thumper and holding Loki's hand) when he felt the damp patch forming on his shoulder.

After _Les Mis_ had finished, they took a few minutes to dry their eyes and calm down, and Bucky elected to leave singing 'Master of the House' for another time, when the pain of the heartbreaking ending was less fresh. Eventually Loki cleared his throat and said, "Well I think a pick me up is definitely in order. Rachel, why don't you put _The Lion King_ in while I fetch the snacks from the kitchen." He returned a few minutes later with the popcorn and cheesy bread sticks, and he also brought through some beers and three plates each with a slice of the chocolate cake on it.

"Chocolate cake, excellent! Just what we need after that!" beamed Rachel, taking her cake and beer from Loki and mumbling a thank you with the first bite already in her mouth. Thumper settled himself in the tiny gap between Loki and Bucky's thighs as they all settled down together again on the sofa and started their final film, not caring that it was already just gone 11pm, and this film would take them to around half midnight.

The film started well, Bucky and Loki both enjoying the animation and the songs. Loki particularly enjoyed 'Just Can't Wait to be King', and Bucky, being a language buff, was very amused by the translation of the Zulu lyrics in 'Circle of Life'. Then Mufasa died. Loki's jaw dropped, and he turned to Rachel, his expression hurt, shocked and slightly angry.

"I thought... You said... What kind of a pick me up is this?!" Rachel covered her mouth, trying not to laugh at Loki's expression.

"C-Come on Luke, it's just a cartoon lion."

"Just a cartoon lion?!" Loki exploded, glaring at Rachel. Bucky placed his hand on Loki's back and gently rubbed in circles.

"Luke, calm down, it's okay..." he soothed, and Loki turned to him, tears in his eyes once more. He met Bucky's gaze, and saw understanding in his eyes. He'd briefly mentioned his fall from the Rainbow Bridge to Bucky over breakfast, and seeing Mufasa fall had been a painful reminder of that moment. Even though Loki knew that he had released his grip on the spear, he had still partially blamed Thor, and felt betrayed by his brother. Bucky knew this, and so understood why this moment was so painful for Loki. He looked over Loki's shoulder at Rachel, who was now looking a little bit guilty for upsetting Luke. "Rachel, it gets better, right? There's a happy ending?"

"Of course it does, otherwise I would never have picked this one. I didn't realise this would affect Luke so badly..." Bucky bit his lip, knowing he should give Rachel an excuse. Glancing at Loki for permission, he twisted the truth.

"When Luke was younger, he and his brother were climbing trees together, and Luke fell..." Bucky paused, making sure Loki was okay with this. Sniffing, Loki continued the lie.

"My brother grabbed my arm, and for a moment it looked like it would be okay, but then..."

"He lost his grip. Luke fell, and he got hurt pretty bad." Deep down, Loki was impressed by how easily Bucky was lying for him. He wiped his eyes and turned back to Rachel. She had one hand over her mouth again, in shock this time.

"Luke, I... I had no idea. I'm so sorry. Are you... Do you want to watch the rest of the film?" She'd paused it while Bucky comforted Loki, and now she held the remote in her hand, ready to play the film or eject the disc depending on how Loki felt. He picked up his beer and took a large swig.

"I'm okay. Play it," he instructed, leaning into Bucky. They held hands again for a while, until Loki had recovered from the shock and was able to sit up again. Then Thumper, who had fled across Bucky's lap when Loki exploded, and then seated himself on Bucky's knee while Bucky comforted Loki, hopped across to Loki's knee, where all three movie night participants could stroke him. By the end of the film, the whole bag of popcorn was eaten, and most of the bread sticks. They all stood up and stretched, and Rachel began gathering up her DVDs.

"I'd offer to let you stay the night, but James is already sleeping on the couch."

"It's fine Luke, I'm perfectly capable of walking home from here." Bucky raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure? It's twenty to one, it's the middle of the night. It could be dangerous. We could probably find room for you here, I don't mind sleeping on the floor." Rachel slipped the last DVD into her bag and turned to smile at Bucky.

"That's sweet of you James, but I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself. I've only got a short walk, and the whole route is pretty well lit." She slung the bag over her shoulder and started heading for the door. Pulling Loki in for a hug she said, "Thanks for tonight Luke, I had a great time." Turning to Bucky she added, "And it was lovely to meet you, James."

"Yeah, you too." Bucky stood at the door with Loki as he waved Rachel off, holding Thumper to prevent an escape. The last thing any of them wanted was to be chasing a runaway rabbit round the halls of Loki's apartment building at almost one in the morning. As Rachel disappeared from sight, they closed the door and Loki took Thumper through to the kitchen to put him to bed, while Bucky collected all the rubbish from the living room. Loki told him to just put it by the door and he would take the rubbish out in the morning. Then Bucky settled into his bed on the sofa. "Goodnight Loki."

"Goodnight Bucky. See you in the morning. Oh, and if you have a nightmare tonight, feel free to come and wake me." Loki grinned as he ducked the cushion Bucky threw at his head. "Night, buddy." Then he slipped through to his bedroom and went to bed himself.

\- - - -

_Steve and Bucky embraced, then raced off like a pair of schoolboys, leaving Loki to face the rest of the Avengers alone. Hawkeye had his bow taut, ready to fire. Iron Man's arm was outstretched, weapons primed. Thor had his hammer raised, scowling. Hulk was growling, fists raised. Black Widow was glaring at him, arms folded, her expression the only threat she needed. Loki backed away, shaking with fear. He looked past them, to where he could see Bucky in the distance._

_"Bucky! Bucky, help me!" he screamed. Bucky stopped, turned to look back at him, but then Steve grabbed his arm, pulling him away. "No, Bucky, come back!" Then Hulk side-stepped into his view again, and he stared around at the Avengers. "No, please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Hulk's growl cut him off._

_"Barton, I think you deserve first hit," came the metallic tones of Iron Man's voice from inside his helmet. Loki's terrified eyes met those of the archer as he responded,_

_"My pleasure." He let the arrow fly, and it embedded itself in Loki's left shoulder. He stumbled back, and as he looked down at his hands he saw the blue colour of his true Jotun form spreading across his skin. He looked back up at Earth's mightiest heroes, just in time to see Black Widow's fist before it connected with his jaw. Moments later a blast from Iron Man's extensive weaponry sent him flying backwards, and then he was grabbed by the Hulk and slammed to the ground. Mjolnir came whistling through the air to land on his wrist, crushing the bones._

_Loki cried out in pain, and yelled for Bucky again, and begged for mercy. Tears streamed down his face, as the Avengers continued to pummel him. Then he heard a distant voice calling him._

_"Loki! Loki!" Groggily he tried to raise his head, but an arrow sliced through his ear, sending his head back down to the ground as he flinched away from the pain. "Loki! Lokes, wake up!"_

_"Bucky?" He tried to push himself up, but Hulk's foot came down on his back._

"Loki!" Bucky shook the frost giant's shoulder, and finally he snapped awake. Blinking, he looked around in confusion. He was on the floor, having rolled off the bed during his nightmare. The covers were tangled round him, and his left wrist ached, but when he saw Bucky he threw his arms around the super soldier.

"Bucky," he sobbed, clutching at Bucky's bare skin. The living room had been warm enough after movie night that Bucky elected to sleep shirtless. Loki didn't notice Bucky's sharp intake of breath, or that taking his frost giant form hadn't just been part of the dream. "Bucky, it was so scary, the Avengers, they cornered me, you were there, but you left with Steve, and they attacked me. Oh, Buck, I was so scared... It felt so real..."

"Sh-sh-sh... i-i-it's o...okay, L-Lokes..." Bucky's teeth chattered as he tried to soothe Loki. Loki pushed away, looking at him in concern. Then he looked down at himself and realised.

"Oh, God, Bucky I didn't realise, I'm sorry..." Loki's skin warmed as his Jotun form receded, and he puled Bucky in for another hug, rubbing the skin to warm it. "Sorry... In the dream I took my Jotun form to protect me... It was the only way to survive their attack. I didn't realise I'd done it outside of the dream. I'm so sorry..."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. And if the Avengers ever do find you, I'm gonna stand by you. I'm not gonna abandon you Loki. And you... you know Steve. He might stick up for you too."

"Bucky, he's Captain America. He's the good guy. I'm the bad guy, I'm a mass-murderer. He's not gonna stick up for me. He's gonna hate me for lying to him, he'll take me down. He'll-"

"He'll recognise that you've changed. He'll give you a second chance, especially if he knows about you taking me in, giving me somewhere safe to stay, looking after me... Steve cares about me."

"He's gonna be pissed that I haven't mentioned you. I've barely spoken to him since we met, except for the last two days, where we've had three conversations, two of which involved me lying to him about your whereabouts. I tried to put him off your scent... You will go back to him eventually, right?" Loki pushed back from Bucky, wiping his eyes so he could look clearly at Bucky. Bucky chewed his lip.

"Eventually, yeah." He shivered, and Loki bit his lip guiltily. He began to disentangle himself from the blankets, ignoring the pain in his wrist. He stood and gestured for Bucky to get into the bed, and wrapped the blankets around him. Then he dashed through to the living room to grab the blankets from the sofa, before returning to snuggle down into bed, cocooned in blankets, with Bucky. They cuddled together, like they had the previous night, and slept soundly 'til morning.


	5. Chapter 4: Broken

Loki was woken by the ache in his wrist. He raised his head slightly, blinking as he looked around. He was curled up against Bucky, injured wrist resting atop Bucky's bare chest. Bucky's real arm was holding Loki close, and the metal one, wrapped heavily in bandages, was on top of all the blankets, held in what looked to be a rather awkward position away from Bucky's body. Loki could feel Bucky's breath tickling the top of his head. He lay his head back down and decided, just this once, to stay in bed a while longer. He snuggled closer to Bucky, and as he settled down, his injured wrist shifted ever so slightly-

"Ah!" He gasped, stiffening as pain laced through his arm. Bucky was awake instantly, scanning the room for the threat, beginning to sit up and accidentally dislodging Loki's wrist. With his good arm Loki grabbed Bucky's shoulder, shaking his head to signal that he shouldn't move as tears began to leak from his eyes, his face screwed up in pain. Bucky looked at him in confusion, then remembered the injury. Gingerly his metal fingers curled around Loki's wrist, supporting it as he sat himself up properly. Loki was gasping from the pain, trying to hold back the tears that streamed down his face. Bucky gently brushed back Loki's hair with his real hand, and pulled Loki round so their eyes met.

"Lokes? Loki, can you support this yourself?" he asked, gently indicating the bandaged wrist. "I just need to take the bandage off." Loki nodded, bringing his shaking right hand up to take the place of Bucky's left. Once Loki had it properly supported, Bucky took his hand away from Loki's cheek, needing both to carefully peel the support bandage off of Loki's wrist. Every so often Loki would wince or hiss at the pain, but Bucky kept going, slowly revealing the severity of the injury.

It wasn't a pretty sight. Loki's wrist was swollen, covered in purple bruising, and most worryingly, one of the bones appeared to be on the verge of tearing through his skin it was so out of place. Bucky gaped at it for a moment.

"Just a bit bruised?" he challenged. Loki grimaced. "You probably landed on it when you fell out of bed last night, or knocked it on something while you were thrashing around. Probably made it worse. But I'm betting it was more than bruised yesterday." Loki nodded. "We should get you to hospital." Loki nodded again.

"But... can we have breakfast first?" Bucky smiled.

"Alright, you lay back here, and I'll go make us some breakfast."

"Let Thumper out, and give him some cabbage. He'll get grumpy if you don't." Bucky nodded and headed into the kitchen. Loki listened carefully, trying to keep his mind occupied with figuring out what Bucky was doing. If he didn't he'd think about other things, like the hospital, and he'd start getting worried, and then that would make him paranoid, because what if someone recognised him, what if he inadvertently revealed his Jotun form, what if-

_Calm down_ , he thought. _Just relax. Focus on Bucky. That little thump must have been Thumper getting impatient, yes there's the fridge door._ But it didn't take long for his mind to drift again, this time starting to panic about what would happen if Steve saw him with Bucky. Would Steve be mad at him? Would Steve take Bucky away? Would his friends hurt Bucky, would they hurt Loki? Would they figure it out? If Steve took Bucky in, then Bucky would end up spending time with all the Avengers, and if Loki stayed friends with Bucky, then he'd be around them too. And it would only be a matter of time before-

"Breakfast is- Loki, are you alright?" Bucky had come back in to find Loki sat forward, head between his knees, hyperventilating. He put the tray of breakfast to one side and clambered onto the bed. "Hey, easy Loki, easy. Calm down, it's alright, I'm here. Come on, breathe with me Lokes." He rubbed Loki's back and talked to him, helping him calm his breathing and his nerves.

"Th-thanks, Bucky," Loki sniffed after a few minutes. Bucky smiled at him and then brought over the tray. Two plates of buttered toast, bacon and fried egg, along with two glasses of orange juice.

"Here you go. Might've cooled a bit now, but it's still good. You'll feel better if you eat something." Bucky set the tray down between them and bit into a piece of toast.

"Toast, bacon and egg? I'm impressed, Bucky. Wasn't sure someone from the forties could figure out a toaster on their own," Loki teased as he started on his own meal, his injured wrist resting on his lap. Bucky pulled a face.

"Oh okay, _Asgardian_ , so how long did it take you? I mean come on, you've gotta be more out of touch with Earth-tech than me. They have toasters on Asgard?"

"Oh please, your Midgardian technology is primitive compared to Asgard. Although, I suppose, I mean, _technically_... We don't have toasters."

"Knew it." They continued their gentle teasing of each other throughout breakfast, Bucky at one point having to reach over and slice Loki's bacon and egg, his injury making it difficult for him to wield the knife as well as the fork. After swallowing the last mouthful, Loki pushed the tray away and started to get out of bed. He winced as he had to move his wrist.

"Lokes? Need a hand?" Bucky asked, slipping across the bed so he could stand by Loki, ready to help.

Loki gestured at his pyjamas. "I can't go to hospital like this." He gritted his teeth and hissed as another jolt of pain shot through his wrist. "But I'm not sure I'm capable of dressing on my own." Loki was in far too much pain to be embarrassed by the situation, but Bucky blushed furiously as he realised what Loki was asking.

Just to confirm, he prompted, "So, you want me to..." he swallowed, "Help you?" His voice squeaked on the last part. Loki nodded, cradling his wrist and beginning to move towards the closet. Bucky made to stop him, saying, "No, Lokes, just... I'll get your clothes, you just stay there." Loki merely nodded, sinking back down onto the bed. Bucky opened the cupboard and grabbed the first top and trousers he saw. He brought them over and dropped them on the bed beside Loki, who immediately checked which clothes Bucky had selected. A plain forest-green short-sleeved shirt, and a pair of tracksuit bottoms. Not the most stylish of outfits, but given the circumstances, probably the most convenient.

Resting his injured arm on his knee, Loki began to unbutton his pyjama top, fumbling slightly as he tried to do it one-handed. Nervously Bucky reached forward to help, undoing all the buttons as fast as he could. Loki was able to shrug his right arm out of the pyjama top fairly easily without Bucky's help, but pulling his injured arm out was considerably harder. Bucky supported his wrist, holding it steady as they pulled his shirt off. Still holding the wrist, Bucky used his other hand to pick up the green shirt, slipping Loki's hand into the sleeve before switching his grip to allow Loki to pull the fresh shirt on the rest of the way. Bucky buttoned it up for him, and then swallowed, knowing this was going to be the really awkward bit.

As he helped Loki to his feet, an image popped into his head. Steve, small and skinny, and seriously ill. Barely strong enough to stand, but insistent on getting dressed and going outside. Pouting at Bucky until he caved and helped him dress.

Bucky pushed the image to the back of his mind. Loki was depending on him right now, he couldn't dwell on the memory. Loki supported his wrist, holding it to his chest, while Bucky pulled his pyjama bottoms to the floor. He grabbed the tracksuit trousers and as Loki stepped out of each leg of the pyjamas he guided the foot into the tracksuit. Then he pulled the trousers up and immediately stepped away from Loki, cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Loki bit his lip as the situation caught up with him.

"Thank you, Bucky. That..."

"I did that for Steve once," Bucky stated. Loki looked at him in surprise. "He-he was ill, but so stubborn... He could barely stand, but he was sick of being inside so much, and he had this stupid little pouty face... So I helped him dress and we went outside, I was half-carrying him most of the way, we went to the park and sat together..." He took a shaky breath, cutting himself off before he had another panic attack. "Do you have some other clothes I could wear? Just, I've been wearing these since..."

"Of course, just have a look in the closet, I don't know that much of what I have will fit you..." He looked at the metal arm, concealed beneath bandages. "I think I have a hoodie somewhere that would hide your arm. Even with the bandages, it's still a bit conspicuous." He paused for a moment before continuing, "Why have you bandaged it?"

"Partly to hide it, and partly because it's cold at night. It's metal, so it sucks the heat a bit." Bucky was searching the closet more thoroughly to find clothes that would fit him. Even though he was slightly malnourished, he was still bigger than Loki.

"Hmm. Well, it's a good thing you did, because Rachel would have recognised the metal arm straight away. I don't know how long your excuse will hold for, if you decide to stick around."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Ah! Is this the hoodie you mentioned?" Bucky pulled it out, a large dark green hoodie that looked like it would swamp Loki. Another image popped into Bucky's head, skinny Steve out in the rain, wearing Bucky's jacket because he forgot his own, looking almost comical due to the size of Bucky's jacket.

Bucky flinched, throwing the hoodie from him as if he'd been electrocuted. Loki jumped slightly, looking at Bucky in shock.

"Bucky? What's wrong?" Bucky was breathing heavily, hands pressed to his temples.

"That... looks way too big for you... reminded me... of Steve... wearing... my... jacket..." Loki approached slowly, careful not to jostle his arm too much, but before he got even halfway, Thumper bounded in and went straight to Bucky's feet. Bucky looked down at the little bunny, staring up at him with his one eye, and began to relax, his breathing slowing to a normal rhythm. He reached down and stroked Thumper. "Hey li'l fella. Thanks, I really needed that." Loki smiled, and reached down to pick up the hoodie.

"Do you want to wear this, or would it be too..." he frowned, searching for the right word.

"I'll wear it. You're right, I need to hide my arm. I'll be fine." Bucky flashed a weak smile at Loki, before taking the hoodie and some other loose clothes and heading into the bathroom to dress.

\- - - -

They took a cab to the hospital, where they only had to wait for about half an hour before being seen by a doctor. Loki suspected that their wait was shortened somewhat by Bucky's vicious glares to anyone who got too close to Loki. Although, the horrific appearance of the injury probably helped as well. Despite how rapidly they were seen, they still spent the whole morning in the hospital, and the beginning of the afternoon. They were finally released at half-past two, Loki's arm in a cast and sling, and a bag of painkillers in the pocket of Bucky's hoodie. By this point they were both quite hungry, so they found the nearest café and headed there for lunch. They arrived late enough that the café was pretty quiet, but Bucky still felt exposed enough that he had to shrink down inside his hoodie, and anyone who made eye-contact found themselves on the receiving end of a suspicious death-glare. Loki noticed this and said quietly to Bucky, "Hey, why don't you go find us a table while I order?" Bucky nodded silently, already scanning the room, planning escape routes, calculating where he needed to be to have the best visibility. Quickly he came to the conclusion that the ideal spot was the corner seat by the window. From there, he could observe the entire café and there were multiple escape routes available to him. And as luck would have it, that corner of the café was quite quiet, which would enable him to feel a little more relaxed, and he and Loki could have a little more privacy. Having picked out a table, he went to sit there, positioning himself strategically in his seat to maximise his view of the café.

Loki joined him a few minutes later, settling in to the seat across from him, being careful not to hinder Bucky's view too much. Bucky noticed, and grinned sheepishly. "I'm being paranoid aren't I?"

"A little, but I don't mind. I understand where you're coming from with it, and so long as you're not hurting anyone-"

"I'm scaring a lot of people. I know I shouldn't glare, but I can't help it. I don't know who to trust, and I feel very protective of you for some reason." He blushed, and looked down at the table. He had no idea why he was blushing. Loki smiled, and reached out to take his hand.

"Hey. It's okay Bu- James." He didn't think anyone was close enough to hear, they were speaking quietly, but he couldn't risk it. If someone heard and word got around to Steve, then things could get very bad very quickly. Loki swallowed, and looked around the room, trying to find something to take his mind off the possible consequences. Bucky squeezed his hand slightly, drawing his attention back.

"It'll be fine, Luke. Stop worrying." Bucky's smile may have seemed a little forced, but Loki returned it all the same.

"I just, I can't help it. If Steve-"

"No, don't think about that, can't have you having a panic attack out here, cause I'll have to deal with it, and all these other people will try and help you, and then I'll panic, and then... best not to think about it." He swallowed, eyes darting around the room in suspicion, shoulders tensing. A nervous laugh escaped Loki's lips.

"Maybe lunch out here wasn't the best plan. But hey, best to try and stick it out, right? If we can make it through this, it'll be easier to go out in the future... Assuming you plan on sticking around?" Loki glanced up hopefully, peering through his fringe at Bucky's smile.

"If you'll have me. 'S'nice, not bein' alone... and Thumper's pretty cool. And these past couple of days... Not felt this... together for so long since..." He frowned, trying to come up with a memory.

"Before the war?" Loki guessed, and Bucky pondered that for a moment before nodding. At that same moment the waitress arrived with their food, and smiled kindly at Bucky, whose reaction was to be somewhat alarmed. With the metal hand he gripped the edge of his seat below the table, and the human hand held even tighter to Loki's.

"War vet, huh? 'S'okay, hun, you're fine here. Relax, enjoy your meal." She made to touch his arm sympathetically, but Loki, seeing the way Bucky tensed, intercepted the move, gently pushing her hand away from Bucky and explaining quietly, as if he didn't want Bucky to hear,

"Thanks, but he doesn't really like to talk about it, and he's been struggling a lot recently... PTSD and all that... Best just leave him be." He smiled at her, trying to seem friendly, but inside he was screaming at her to stay the hell away. That message transmitted through Loki's eyes, with greater intensity than intended, causing the waitress to step back, looking slightly afraid. She only gave Bucky fleeting glances out of the corner of her eye as she asked, in a slightly fearful tone, if there was anything else they needed. Loki tried to be polite as he dismissed her, and once she was gone, he turned to Bucky, wishing he had both hands available to clasp the hand still clinging to his on the table. Bucky began to relax as he watched the waitress retreat, returning to the kitchen, presumably warning the other staff about the scary war vet whose friend implied he was dangerous. He let out a shaky breath, and his eyes scanned the room as he turned back to look Loki in the eyes. They stared at each other for a moment, before both cracking a grin, all the tension finally leaving Bucky's shoulders. Bucky released Loki's hand so they could eat, but shifted his body so their knees were touching under the table, not quite relaxed enough that he could go without the reassuring comfort of feeling Loki's presence.

"That is exactly why I need to stick around. If I were on my own..." Bucky trailed off, uncurling his fingers from the seat, revealing slight dents in place of his metal fingers. He bit his lip shyly, indicating to Loki what he'd done, eliciting a snigger from the Asgardian. Bucky grinned back, and dropped his voice, glancing over at the staff as he whispered, "Do you think they'll notice?" From his tone, Loki gathered that although it was mostly a joke, there was an element of guilt and concern hidden deep down. Loki inspected the damage again, as subtly as he could while barely containing his giggles.

"Nah, I think we're good. It's pretty minor, even if they do spot it, it probably won't be for a while, they won't know it was us, and they won't need to replace the chair." He thought for a moment, then added, "I could include a little extra in the tip if you're worried. Probably should anyway, after we terrified that waitress."

"We? You mean _you_ terrified her. All I did was... okay maybe I did scare her a bit, but you did most of it." He waved his fork at Loki as he said, "It's all on you."

_"...and maybe it's too much for us but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you'll be damned well sure we'll avenge it."_ Every point in the battle of New York that had involved the Avengers besting him, taking the fight directly to him, targeting _him_ suddenly crowded into Loki's brain, flooding his mind... _Catching an arrow, only to have it blow up in his face... His brother fighting him, lifting him, throwing him to the ground... Hulk grabbing him by the ankle, smashing him repeatedly into the floor..._

"Luke? Luke, are you alright?" Bucky lowered his voice, leaning closer. "Loki? What's wrong, Lokes? C'mon buddy, you're scaring me here..." Loki's fork had fallen from his fingers, he was staring at a point in space, eyes wide with fear. His shoulders were tense, his hands were shaking, his breath came in rapid gasps. Everyone in the café was staring at them. Bucky waved off the concerned waiter who began to approach as he slipped out of his seat and moved round the table, linking the fingers of his real hand with Loki's, stroking his bandaged metal fingers through Loki's hair. "It's okay buddy, you're safe. It's 2014, we're in a café in Washington. You're okay..." Bucky racked his brains, unsure of what else to say. His eyes darted around the room as he searched for ideas, and he caught a glimpse of the light reflecting off Loki's hair, at the point where the natural black merged into the sandy blonde of his disguise. Distracted, Bucky breathed out, "Your hair is beautiful, Lokes..." His eyes drifted back to Loki's, no longer staring petrified at an unseen horror, instead back in the room, looking back at Bucky. Bucky blushed, realising what he'd just said, that Loki had been present for that remark. Dropping his hand from Loki's hair onto his shoulder, stroking it to ease the tension, Bucky cleared his throat and asked, "Feel better?" Loki nodded, not quite trusting his voice yet. Bucky shot glares at the other patrons, forcing them to look away, as he slid back into his seat, keeping hold of Loki's hand. "You wanna talk about it?" Loki shook his head, and Bucky nodded, stroking his thumb across Loki's knuckles. After a few moments, Loki tugged slightly at his hand.

"Kinda need this to eat, Buck," he murmured, glancing up through his fringe to meet Bucky's concerned gaze. Bucky released his hand, face breaking into a smile.

"Just making sure you're alright is all. I know you don't want to talk about it, but just for reference, which bit was the trigger?" Loki looked down at his food, tilting his head forward to hide behind his fringe. He swallowed and took a deep breath before answering.

"All on me. It... uh... It's something-"

"You don't need to explain it, just as long as I know to avoid it. 'Kay?" Bucky smiled at Loki, who returned it weakly.

" 'Kay."

They finished their meal quickly after that, and declined dessert when the waiter offered (the waitress from earlier seemed too scared to return), instead paying for their meal and leaving a generous tip, and gave their apologies for scaring staff and customers. The waiter smiled at them, insisting that it was fine, no harm done, and inviting them to come again any time.

\- - - - 

They walked home from the café, Loki realising that if Bucky stuck around he needed to be careful with his money. Supporting both of them, Thumper and possibly the new kitten would put a bit of a strain on his wallet. He didn't mention it, not wanting Bucky to feel guilty. He already felt guilty enough about the Winter Soldier's actions, Loki refused to add to that burden. He would find a way to get by.

Thumper, as usual, came bounding to the door as soon as he heard Loki's key in the lock. When the door opened, he sat back on his hind legs and reached up, trying to see Loki's wrist. Loki scooped him up one-armed and showed him the sling and the cast, explaining it like he was talking to a small child. Thumper scrabbled against his side, uncomfortable with the way he was being supported, and Loki bent slightly to allow him to hop to the floor more easily. He straightened to find Bucky grinning at him.

"What?" he asked as they walked through to the living room.

"You always talk to Thumper like that?" Loki blushed.

"I'm used to living alone. Thumper is... he's someone to talk to."

"You lonely? Well, now I really have to stick around. Can't have you turning into crazy rabbit man." Loki shoved him playfully as they collapsed on the couch. Bucky checked the time on the wall clock and said, "Nearly four o'clock. What d'you wanna do with the rest of the day?"

"Normally I'd have spent the day at the animal shelter, volunteering. Do you want to head down there with me, after we've had a break? Quick snack, cup of tea?" Bucky agreed, and they headed to the kitchen together.

"Is there any of that cake left?" Bucky sounded hopeful, and Loki smiled as he nodded, using his head to indicate where it was while he fumbled with the kettle. Bucky rolled his eyes. "Here, I'll do that, you sort out the cake. Reluctantly, Loki handed the kettle over to Bucky and went to get the cake. Bucky did most of the work making the tea, Loki feeling rather useless as he got mugs and plates out of the cupboards and found a knife to cut the cake. Thumper hopped up onto his hutch to watch, using the empty pizza boxes Loki hadn't thrown out yet as a step to help him get up.

There wasn't much of the cake left, just enough for two slices (albeit rather generously sized slices). Loki put the slices onto the plates as Bucky was pouring the tea, and the pair sat down together. They chatted as they ate, Bucky curious to hear all about the animal shelter. Thumper hopped down from the roof of his hutch, causing the pizza boxes to slide across the floor as he bounded through to the living room. Loki groaned as he was reminded of them.

"We'd better take the rubbish out before we leave. I meant to do it this morning." He bit his lip and fidgeted slightly. Bucky laughed quietly.

"It's really bothering you isn't it?" Loki made a face at him.

"I just don't like mess." He was going to say more, but was interrupted by a crash from the living room. "Thumper!" They rushed through to see Thumper sat by a pile of books that had fallen over, investigating the contents of a bag. Loki pulled it away from him to scold him while Bucky began sorting out the books. Thumper grabbed something from the bag and pulled it out. It was the lead Loki had bought two days previously. Loki took it from him and raised an eyebrow at Thumper.

"Bucky, hold Thumper for me," he said, checking the instructions for fitting the harness. Bucky looked at him.

"You're gonna put him on a lead? You're not bringing him with us to the animal shelter are you?"

"No, of course not. I'm just gonna put the harness on him so he can get used to it, then tomorrow we can go to the park and walk him." As he spoke, Loki detached the lead from the harness, and began to put it on Thumper. The rabbit wriggled slightly, but Bucky held him still, careful not to hurt him. After a little bit of struggle, the harness was on, and Bucky released Thumper. The rabbit stretched, and fidgeted, and quickly came to the conclusion that the harness wasn't coming off, and glared up at Loki, stomping his foot. Loki laughed. "I'll take it off before we leave, Thumper. Don't want you getting tangled in it while we're gone. But it'll be fun, you'll get to go outside." Thumper hopped away, sulking. Bucky and Loki returned to the kitchen to finish their tea and cleared away the mugs and plates, putting them into the dishwasher. Then they gathered up the rubbish and Loki took it out to the bins. When he got back, Bucky had convinced Thumper to sit on the sofa with him and was trying to remove the harness. He looked up at Loki and said,

"I think this might be a three-handed job. Care to lend one?" Loki laughed and helped him free Thumper.

"There you go, little fella. That wasn't so bad, was it?" Thumper seemed to disagree, fleeing to his hutch as soon as Loki and Bucky released him. They laughed as they watched him go. Then they set off for the animal shelter.

\- - - -

"Luke! Yer late. Wotcha do ter yer 'and?" Walter greeted Loki as he walked in the door. Bucky followed him in. "An' who's yer friend?"

"Walter, this is James. He's an old friend of mine. James, Walter runs this shelter. As for my hand, I slipped in the shower yesterday. James had to take me to hospital this morning, as the injury was more severe than I originally thought, which is why I didn't come in earlier. Where's Lilian?"

"She's showin' a family round. Lookin' to adopt a dog. She's 'opin' ter get 'em to take Jacko, that poor mutt, been here longer'n you."

"Oh, I hope they like him, poor fellow. Do you have anything needs doing, or shall I go see if Lilian has a job for us?"

"He 'elping out then? Go ask Lilian, tell 'er why you're late. She won't be 'appy, mind." Loki nodded, and headed off, gesturing at Bucky to follow him. He lead Bucky through to where they kept the dogs, and quickly spotted Lilian showing a family with two young children some of the dogs. The children were crouched down, looking in at Jacko, while Lilian spoke to the parents, trying to convince them that the dog was friendly and fun. The little dog was sniffing at the children, unsure. As Loki approached with Bucky in tow, Lilian looked up at him.

"Excuse me a moment," she murmured to the parents, before turning to Loki and calling out. "And where've you been all day?" She put her hands on her hips, frowning at him. He raised his wrist slightly and called back,

"Hospital. Sorry, I should've called. But I brought reinforcements. This is James." They came level with Lilian and Bucky smiled weakly, looking rather nervous. Lilian looked him up and down, then turned back to Loki and sighed, expression turning to one of relief.

"We really needed you today Luke, I've been run off my feet all day. But you're here now. I'm trying to help this family choose a dog, so how about you take your friend and go clean out some of the little animals, and feed those kittens. I'll come meet ya when I've finished here." With that she turned back to talk to the parents, who'd moved towards the gate, looking in at Jacko. Loki lead Bucky past the dogs, most of whom came running up to greet them, and through to the back room where the smaller animals were housed.

Loki was showing Bucky how to clean the tortoise tank out when Walter shouted for him. Bucky assured him he could manage on his own, so Loki went through to see what Walter wanted. There was a young man in the reception, holding an injured puppy in his arms. Looking at it, Loki guessed it was probably a stray. Walter was on the phone, presumably calling the vet. Loki cleared a space on the counter and put down a clean towel, and helped the man lay the puppy down on the towel. He turned to the man, and asked him what happened.

"I-I-I don't know, I just- I just found her, just lying at the side of the road... Will she be alright?" he stammered, shaken. Behind them Walter put the phone down.

"Vet's on the way. Luke, look after 'er, I'm gonna inform Lilian." He hobbled off towards the dog pens, leaving Loki to deal with the puppy and the shaken man. He gently stroked the dog, calming her, and began talking to the man, trying to calm him down.

"What's your name?"

"Bart."

"Do you know this dog, Bart?"

"N-no, I think she's a stray... You can help her right, she'll be alright?"

"The vet will be here soon, they'll look her over and assess her needs. Once they've given the all clear, then assuming she is a stray, we'll take her in here, get her ready for adoption. She should get a home fast, the young ones always do." He was careful to keep his voice steady and not allow his own concern for the puppy show through, knowing that if he showed he was scared for the dog, Bart would only become more distressed, and if they were distressed, the puppy would pick up on it and start to panic as well. And if she became panicked, she could worsen her condition. Loki kept talking to Bart, getting to know him, helping to calm him down, all the while monitoring the dog, making sure she didn't move too much and keeping her calm.

Before long Walter returned, and took his seat at the desk once more. Lilian didn't come back with him, so Loki assumed she was still showing the family round, and didn't want the children coming back into the reception until they'd moved the dog into a different room. He was about to ask Walter if he should take her through when the vet arrived.

"Walter," she said with a nod. Walter nodded back, and pointed her towards Loki. She walked over, looking down at the dog. "So, this is the patient then? Alright lovely, let's take a look." She gave the dog a quick once over, then said, "I think it should be safe to move her. Lead the way." She nodded at Loki, scooping the dog into her arms. Loki held the door for her, letting her into the back, and asked Bucky to get the door to the treatment room for the vet. She smiled at Bucky as she bustled past. Loki held back Bart, explaining that he couldn't go in with her.

"You're welcome to stay a while, but you'll have to wait out here I'm afraid." Bart nodded, and went to take a seat. Loki turned to Walter. "Has the family Lilian was with left yet?"

"No, they're finishing up some adoption papers. Go let 'er know it's safe to bring the kiddies through, wouldja?" Loki nodded, and headed off to speak to Lilian, leaving Bucky feeling a bit lost, having finished the tortoise and not knowing what to do next. Loki returned quite quickly, and began instructing Bucky on which of the animals needed cleaning out, and began the task of feeding the animals, which was a far easier task to do with only one hand.

"So which dog are they adopting?" Bucky asked.

"Jacko," Loki grinned. "Little guy's finally getting a home." Bucky smiled back at him, and they continued working in silence. It wasn't very long before Lilian came through, going straight into the vet's room without a word to her volunteers. About fifteen minutes later, she emerged again with the vet, and Loki and Bucky followed them through into reception, where Bart was waiting to hear news.

"Is she alright?" he asked, jumping to his feet the moment the vet stepped through the door.

"I had to give her some stitches, and her hip was slightly dislocated, but she'll recover. I'm satisfied to leave her here, but she will need to be monitored carefully. There could still be complications. She seems to be in good health, but she needs to be quarantined until I've run some blood tests. Then it will be a case of waiting until she's recovered and finding her a home. If she doesn't already have one."

"If she doesn't, I'd like to adopt her," Bart said. Lilian nodded. She took his contact details, and then sent him on his way. The vet headed back to the surgery. Lilian headed back into the back room, ushering Bucky and Loki ahead of her. She helped them finish up in there, getting the kittens out last. The little one had been put in a separate cage to the others. Loki pulled her out.

"Hello, sweetie. How are you today?" Loki cooed. The kitten mewled up at him. Bucky crouched next to Loki and stretched out a hand to stroke her.

"She's adorable. She's so tiny."

"Yeah, she wasn't getting enough food. I put her in isolation yesterday morning, and she's definitely improving. But she still needs a lot of care. Luke, you still thinking about adopting her? She'll be a lot harder to find a home for than her siblings."

"I'm thinking about it. James is staying with me now, so I'm not sure if-"

"There's plenty of room for a kitten. And I love cats. I'll help look after her, I can take care of her while you're at work. Until I get a job, of course." Loki looked at Bucky in surprise. Bucky grinned back. "What, you didn't think I was gonna just move in with you without getting a job or anything to help pay the bills? I ain't a freeloader Lukey." He gave Loki a playful shove. Loki smiled. He looked down at the kitten, stroking her head with one finger.

"What do you think, hey little lady? Do you want to come home with me an' James?" The kitten mewled happily, pushing her head up into Loki's hand. He grinned. "I'll take that as a yes then. Need to give you a name now, don't we. Any ideas James?" Bucky frowned thoughtfully.

"How about... Smokey?" Loki made a face. "Alright, let's try... Stevie?" Loki sniggered, but shook his head. Bucky thought a bit, then said, "Wait, I've got it. We'll call her Cosette."

"Cosette? Like the girl in _Les Mis_?" Bucky nodded, and Loki considered it. The kitten mewled loudly. "I suppose it does kind of fit her. Our little Cosette." The kitten mewled again, and Loki nodded. "Yeah. I like it."

"Alright, I'll note that down then," said Lilian. "You won't be able to take her home for a couple of weeks, but I guess that'll give you time to get your apartment ready for a kitten." She smiled at them, and set about feeding the kittens. After that, there wasn't much left to do, so Lilian sent them on their way, thanking them for all their help. As they walked home together, Loki asked Bucky,

"Did you mean what you said? About getting a job, and helping with the bills?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I mean it?"

"It might be hard, you getting a job. And not just cause you dealing with new people is a bit... you know. There's other stuff. Legal stuff. Like how you supposedly died 69 years ago."

"We'll work it out. And until we do, we'll just... keep spending to a minimum." Loki raised his eyebrow.

"We just committed to getting a cat. That's a whole bunch of spending right there. And you can't wear my clothes forever. We need to buy you some clothes of your own."

"We don't need to buy me much. There's the clothes I was wearing when you took me in, what I wore yesterday, and what I'm wearing today. I really don't need much else. And we can get stuff second hand. We'll make this work." Bucky sounded so confident, Loki couldn't help but smile.

"I guess... Maybe, until we can sort out a job for you... you can volunteer. Start building up a resume, get better at talking to people..." Bucky nodded.

"Yeah, we can try that. Steve doesn't come to the shelter ever, right?"

"Not while I've been there. You should be safe."

"Okay, so I'll volunteer, you'll work at the bookstore, we'll work on getting me a job, and we'll see what we can do about cutting spending." He smiled at Loki, taking his hand. "It'll be alright, Lokes." Loki smiled back, leaning his head against Bucky's arm.

"Yeah, it will," he sighed contentedly. "We'll be okay."


End file.
